Backcourt Lover
by voodooprincess1331
Summary: Have you ever been in love with someone who doesn't love you back? That must hurt a lot, I wonder. I wish I knew what that felt like. I'm in love with a boy in my school who isn't even aware of my existence. [NaruHina]
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter One_

Have you ever been in love with someone who doesn't love you back? That must hurt a lot, I wonder. I wish I knew what that felt like.

I'm in love with a boy in my school who isn't even aware of my existence.

I am Hinata Hyuga, and I attend Konoha High. Currently, I am in the chorus, band and orchestra, and I am an ideal student. In a whole, I'm the typical goodie-two-shoes. There is nothing too special about me; I live with my parents and my cousin, Neji; I attend school every day and do my homework every night; I have a crush on a boy at school; I play the flute and the viola. Ultimately, I am a typical high school girl.

I stepped into my first period classroom and was immediately met by the energetic Psychology teacher.

"Hinata!" Gai leaped halfway across the room when she stepped in. His bowl haircut and caterpillar eyebrows always caught me like a deer in headlights. This morning, he had a twinkle in his eye, which could only mean one thing. "Draw a name out of the hat, and the power of youth will grant you a splendid partner for our next experiment!"

I didn't say anything - sometimes I felt that to be for the best - and I plunged my hand into the ocean of paper. I didn't have a preference to who my partner would be, so I wasn't finicky with trying to find the perfect shred.

Quickly, I retrieved my hand, and glanced at the paper. Before I opened it, I blinked once, looking at it for only a moment. Gai never became impatient, and he waited for me to proclaim my partner.

With both hands, I felt the thin sheet of loose-leaf paper between my fingertips and unfolded it tenderly.

_Sasuke Uchiha_

I was wrong before. I think I did have a preference to a partner. It wasn't bad enough that Sasuke was as silent as I was, but he was also dating Sakura Haruno, who had a short-lit fuse. I was immediately afraid of what she would do when she found out that I - another girl - was partnered with Sasuke.

_Calm down, Hinata_, I told myself. _It's not that bad yet. We might not have to work on it outside of school_.

I glanced over to my charcoal-haired partner and made my way to him. He barely looked me over before shoving his hands in his jeans pockets. We stood there in complete and utter silence, waiting for the rest of the class to find their partners. There were either grunts or cheers from her peers, depending on who their partners were.

"Alright!" Gai danced to the front of the room and turned to face his pupils. "You each have a partner, and the two of you will construct your very own Psychology experiment. Of course morality of the experiment is implied, but other than morality, the only rule is that you may not discuss any portion of your experiment with anybody."

I raised an eyebrow. How were we supposed to construct an experiment without anybody else knowing what we are doing? I let out a deep sigh and broke my posture for a moment, and I felt the presence of Sasuke's dark eyes on my shoulders - only for a moment.

"Well what happens if someone finds out what our experiment is?" Sakura raised her hand and shouted out, doing both being redundant.

Her comment caused chatter to uproar in the room, and Gai tapped his knuckles on the blackboard behind him to receive attention.

"If someone outside of your partnered pair - even myself - discovers the goal of your experiment, you must start over, regardless of your progress."

While a commotion exploded and World War III began, I sat back and realized the teacher's true intention: he wanted us to be subtle. If we were so faint in our true purpose, then it will give us more objective data.

Figuring it out, I nodded once and placed a loose fist on my chest. Then, again, I glanced over at Sasuke, and suddenly felt a sigh of relief escaping my throat.

Maybe it wasn't so bad that I was partnered with him. For one, we're both quiet, so the odds of our experiment details getting out are slim. Second, he was a basketball player, so he can't work on the project when they have a game, which means I get to go and watch Naruto.

OoO

I sat in the stands, within the mass of other Konoha High students, and watched intently as Naruto stood at the foul line, preparing for his two free, foul-induced shots. The crowd grew silent, and I could feel the anticipation growing and growing.

Inside me, even, it bubbled and I felt secretly giddy as I examined the way his body moved, how he precisely placed his feet right at the line. He paid no attention to the referee who was dying to give him the ball. I wondered why that was.

Naruto shook out his arms and did a single squat before turning his eyes to the referee, who bounced him the ball. Professionally, Naruto kept his eyes on the prize, and he repeated the motions that he always did during a foul shot.

He bent his knees and dribbled the orange rubber three times with his right hand, and then he spun it between his fingertips, finding the exact spot to place his hands.

I pressed my hands into my lap and crossed my fingers tightly, hoping for the best. I wanted nothing _but_ the best for Naruto.

Naruto sent the ball arching towards the basket, and I automatically knew that it was going to go in with nothing but the sound of a swish.

The crowd around me cheered, and I clapped my hands. Oh, how I wish he knew that I exist. My heart fluttered as Naruto stepped off of the foul like to receive pats from his teammates. Sasuke was the only one who stayed behind; instead, he checked the scoreboard. I followed his gaze.

Konoha was down by three points, and there were only seconds left in the game. If Naruto could score this point, then we would only need one more basket to come out in a victory.

I took a deep breath and continued to hold my fingers tightly together, wishing nothing but the best of luck to Naruto and his team.

All eyes were on my secret crush as he repeated his warm-up and preparation stance for his second foul shot. There were a few whispers in the crowd, but they died down the moment the ref surrendered the basketball to Naruto's clutch.

_Please, Naruto_, I begged in my mind.

Dribble, dribble, dribble.

_You can do it!_

Silence...followed by the most beautiful sound in basketball: _swish!_

The crowd around me jumped up into the air and began screaming, and I clapped for my secret love. It was so exciting to see him be successful, though there was never any doubt in my mind that he would be able to conquer these shots.

But my eyes flickered back to the scoreboard that Sasuke had brought my attention to. We were still two points down, and there were only twenty three seconds left in the game. I wasn't entirely sure what had to happen in order for Konoha to get those two points, but I knew it had to happen fast.

Konoha's team jogged down to the other end of the court and formed their defensive position as the other team prepared their offense. Sasuke stood just beyond center court with his hands on his bony knees, awaiting the arrival of the other team's point guard. The point took his time dribbling down the court, declaring his win over Konoha.

Sasuke moved closer towards him, attempting to push him to step backcourt and cause a violation. Not sweating too much about it, the point tossed the ball to his right wing. Kiba Inuzuka dashed away from the man he was guarding and intercepted the ball with only two seconds until the game ended.

The crowd around me yelled at him, "Shoot!"

Giving it his all, Kiba whipped the basketball across the court towards the basket. I watched as the trajectory seemed to match, and I found myself rising to my feet as the buzzer went off. But that didn't stop the ball. Instead, it smacked against the rim and bounced twice, toying with the blood pressure of all those in the audience.

Much to my dismay, the ball tipped along the outside of the rim and plummeted to its death on the court. Immediately, there was a release of breath from the audience in its entirety. The other team's student section jumped up and cheered for their victory.

No matter what happened, I still enjoyed watching Naruto play. I just wish I could build the courage to congratulate him for playing so well...


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two_

The two of us haven't said much since we got together today. Sasuke sort of intimidated me, but he seemed genuinely nice, I think. His family was all home, and when I walked in to the condo, his older brother stared me up and down.

_"What, have you gotten tired of Sakura already?" _He had asked, and I immediately blushed. If Naruto couldn't even see me, how would this popular team captain see me as anything more than a peer?

_"She's just a partner for class,_" Sasuke had shoved his hands in his pockets and pushed past his brother. _"Don't bother us."_

Now, Sasuke was searching through a drawer under his bed, searching for his Psychology notebook that he had chucked under there last night whenever Sakura was over after the game. At least that's what he said. But what reason do I have to doubt him?

"Have you thought of any ideas for our experiment?" Sasuke asked with a heave as he yanked out the navy spiral-bound. I glanced at him, wondering at first if he was actually talking to me. Of course he was; who else would he be speaking to?

"I don't know," I said and pushed myself onto my hands and knees, watching as he crawled over to the center of his room, plopping down and flipping open the notebook. "But we have to be sure that nobody finds out."

Sasuke's mouth pushed itself to one side as he thought for a moment. "Then we should do something that could actually happen," he tapped his pen on his knee and raised an eyebrow. "We could always mess with the team."

I sat up straight, staring at him, and when I didn't answer or even respond immediately, he turned his shadowed eyes to hers and watched. I think I may have gotten nervous and blushed, because when he mentioned the team, I thought about Naruto, and my heart fluttered. "The basketball team?" I asked, knowing the answer already. But I had to say something.

"Yeah." He didn't seem to be agitated by my hesitation, and I'm sure he noticed the blood boiling under my cheeks, but he said nothing. "I mean, if we do some sort of experiment on the team, then it would be less likely for students to find out, right? Since the only people that would be in the gym are coach Tsunade and the team."

"What kind of experiment?" I asked, pondering what they could do to the basketball team. Was Sasuke planning on freaking them out? What if something goes wrong? I started to panic, and as a reaction, I began perspiring.

_What if Naruto gets hurt?!_

Sasuke's nose scrunched as he thought of the experiment itself and its details. I took in a deep breath to calm myself, and I noticed that his room smelled nice. The scent of Old Spice tickled my nose and intoxicated my senses; at that moment, I lost myself in a daydream. I couldn't help but imagine what Naruto smelled like.

"Hey! Sasuke!" I heard his voice, and I blinked once. Was my delusion that strong, that I could even hear him? When Sasuke stood up and moved over towards his door, grunting, I knew immediately that it wasn't a dream. Naruto was here in the same house as me.

I panicked, and I jumped up, running over to the bathroom in the far end of Sasuke's room. Like a coward, I slammed the door shut and pressed myself into it, shoving my ear to the door.

"Hinata?" Sasuke asked, bewildered.

My heart pounded and I found myself shedding a single tear and I wasn't sure why. I was completely and utterly terrified of meeting Naruto face to face. I closed my eyes and noticed that my hands were shaking against the wooden door of the bathroom.

"I'm fine," I managed to say, and the sound of Sasuke walking across the hardwood floor towards where I hid.

"Don't worry," he said indifferently, and I imagined him shoving his fists into his pockets. "I'll get rid of him."

"No!" I screamed, though it only came out to be a bit more than a murmur. "Don't be rude to him. I'll be okay in here."

Sasuke was silent for a moment, and I glanced towards the door as if I could see through it. "Suit yourself," He finally said, and I listened closely as his feet turned and clomped over towards the opposite end of the room. The door to his bedroom, which had been closed, clicked open and Sasuke left.

Once I knew he was gone, I pressed my back to the door and slid down onto the floor. Why was I such a wimp? Why couldn't I face Naruto? Was I afraid of what he would say, or whether he might reject me?

If only I had the confidence of Ino, the cheerleading captain, or even Sakura. She had confronted the guy that she loved and she confessed her undying love to him, and came out victorious. Why can't I be like that?

I've talked to the guidance counselor - Orochimaru - so many times about my lack of confidence, because he has been concerned about my social abilities. I don't believe that I had a social illness, I was just averse by nature.

I let out a sigh, and waited patiently and silently as Sasuke tended to Naruto. I could only hear their muffled voices; no words were able to penetrate the door, but I could hear my love's powerful voice. He laughed at something, and a warmth radiated through my body, almost enough to where I began feeling hot.

The blue and gray Konoha sweatshirt that coated my figure began to absorb my sweat, and I decided that I was going to become overheated if I didn't take it off. Would it be weird for Sasuke if he came back and I was wearing this tank top?

Maybe it would. I decided against it, and I pushed up my sleeves as an alternative.

I heard footsteps coming back into Sasuke's room, and it sounded like bare feet. A part of me prayed that he had invited Naruto in, and then the second part begged that he wouldn't.

"You can come out now," Sasuke's voice didn't come near the door. "He's gone now."

I breathed a sigh of relief and pushed open the bathroom door with the minute force of my body. Sasuke was back on the floor, writing down ideas for their project. I returned to by spot across from him and dropped to my knees silently, watching him scratch away on the paper.

I wanted to ask what he was writing, but I couldn't bring myself to do it, so I simply watched in dead silence.

"Would you be up to being the basketball team manager for the week?" Sasuke glanced up at me, and I stared at him for only a moment before I answered.

"I don't mind. What are we going to do?"

"I want to have a practice where I work the guys hard, and they aren't allowed to take a break no matter what. Since I am team captain and Coach isn't going to be here on Wednesday, I feel it may give us some good psychological data."

I nodded. "But what does that have to do with me becoming manager?"

"Well I can't record the data myself while I play, can I?" It was a rhetorical question, I was well aware, but I decided to answer with a shake of my head.

"I'll do it."

Sasuke nodded once and wrote down the details of their experiment. "All you have to do is record observations on the guys for three days: tomorrow is for the data before the experiment, Wednesday will be during the experiment, and Thursday will be the recording of the guys after the main part of the experiment has taken place.

"Oh, and don't get too distracted by Naruto," Sasuke said as I was writing down my portion of the project. My hand immediately froze and my face was painted red.

"_Don't get too distracted by Naruto_._"_

I forgot; Naruto was on the team, too. That would mean that he would have to see me, if I played the role of the team manager. I couldn't tell if this idea scared me or excited me. Either way, I felt sick.

OoO

"Hey, Hinata," I heard a voice speak to me, breaking my concentration from my English teacher's - Mr. Kakashi Hatake's - analysis of _Lord of the Flies_. Glancing over to my right, I noticed Sakura Haruno staring at me, and I swallowed my tongue.

She was going to harass me for being a girl at the same time as being partners with Sasuke. I was immediately terrified, but when she smiled a genuine beam at me, I blinked once in confusion.

"Do you want to come over to my house after practice?"

Automatically, I knew she was talking about her cheerleading practice, and I assumed that Sasuke mentioned that I was making my debut as the basketball manager. But why would Sakura invite me to her house, when we never really talk to begin with.

Was she going to hit me, or threaten me?

_Stop it, Hinata_, I scolded myself for judging her. I was curious to see what she wanted, so I forced a shy smile and nodded.

Sakura smiled and her shoulders lifted slightly. "I'll pick you up after school, 'kay?" Again, I nodded, still not sure what her intentions may be.

"Miss Haruno, Miss Hyuga," Mr. Hatake glanced up from the tiny book he held in a single hand, calling on both of us. My face turned red, and Sakura's head whipped to the front of the classroom, startled. "How is Jack's character changing from the beginning up until now?"

I glanced over at Sakura and knew immediately that she hadn't read the book yet. I always overheard her bragging about how she would wait until the last day to read the entirety of a book.

To save Sakura, I raised my hand to answer Mr. Hatake's question. The entire class dropped both their pencils and their jaws to see me offer to answer a question. Of course, I did my homework daily, and I understood the material that we were receiving, but I really didn't throw myself out there to answer in front of a mass of people.

"Well, of course, in the beginning of the book," I started, my voice a little over a whisper, "Jack was the person among them who wanted to set all of the rules. He was the leader of the prim and proper chorus boys, originally. Then after failing to find the will to kill the pig initially, he began to throw away the morality that society had planted in him."

Mr. Hatake nodded once and turned around, continuing with his in-depth analysis, butchering the book as he spoke. From next to me, I heard Sakura let out a breath, relieved that I came to her rescue.

"Thank you," she mouthed at me, muting her voice so that Mr. Hatake would not turn back around and force her to answer another analysis question. I nodded once, and Sakura returned a white grin. I returned the gesture genuinely.

OoO

I walked into the gym, late for practice, and I stood at the door while Coach Tsunade shouted at the team as they played three-on-three. I guess that I caught her attention, because she waved her hand and signalled for me to come over to her. Silently, as so not to make a distraction to the guys, I puttered over to the aggressive blonde woman that I knew as my Physical Education teacher.

If there was anybody that I feared most, it was Tsunade. The woman had a temper, and she was "jacked," as Sasuke had told me yesterday. I thought she had a great physique; she wasn't big, but she wasn't skinny, either. She shopped a bit too much in the bust department, but that was okay. Although, sometimes I wondered how she could run as fast as she could with all that weight on her chest.

I got close to her, and her overpowering voice commanded the guys to pick up the pace. Once she finished, she shoved her fists on her hips and sighed, turning to me.

"Sasuke told me that you wanted to manage the team," Tsunade said in a completely different tone, and I nodded.

"Yes, that's right."

"Good. I'm glad you're here," she said honestly. "I could use the extra hand with these guys. Plus it isn't such a bad thing that I now have another woman around. Even out the testosterone, y'know?" She laughed, and her high spirits were contagious to me. "During practices, you don't really have to do much. Making sure all of the balls get to the ball cart in between drills is pretty much the biggie. During games, you get the players their water bottles - they're labeled by the way - and just help them out."

I nodded. "That doesn't seem bad," I pushed myself to say. That was good; this way, I can work on our experiment.

Tsunade turned back to the court and blew two puffs of air into her whistle, and the guys immediately reacted by dribbling their balls over to where we stood. Immediately, I began sweating. Naruto was coming closer to me, covered in perspiration, cheeks red from physical activity.

My heart thudded in my chest, and I swear that it was going to pop right up my throat and out my mouth. To prevent such an occurrence, I swallowed hard and nonchalantly gasped for air.

There he was, two feet from me. But he paid no attention to me. Was I invisible?

_"Don't get too distracted by Naruto."_ Sasuke's voice popped into my spinning brain, and I shook my head and turned my eyes to the floor.

"Okay, guys," Tsunade stood, surrounded by a semicircle of sweaty high school guys. "Time to scrimmage. Sasuke, go to the left end," she pointed to the end opposite of where I came in, "and Naruto, you go to the right." The two rivals separated from the rest of the team, moving to their designated end of the court. I glanced over at Naruto, who ripped off his jersey and turned it inside out, switching from blue to gray.

I think I may have died a little inside.

"Kiba and Shikamaru, join Sasuke. Lee and Choji, to Naruto," Tsunade ordered. I glanced around the gym, my eyebrows pulling together. I knew that the team was small, but I never thought that it was _this_ small. Weren't there supposed to be five people on the court at once? That would mean that they only have one to spare.

Tsunade glanced down at me. "Aren't you hot?" She was referring to the fact that I still had my sweatshirt on. Honestly, I was roasting, but I didn't feel comfortable taking it off around the people that I don't know.

So I shook my head no.

I knew she didn't believe me, but she didn't say so. Instead, she turned back to her guys and began instructing them. I did my part of the experiment by writing down all of the guy's names and recording their actions. And, of course, I tried to follow Sasuke's request. I attempted to keep my eyes off of Naruto unless necessary for the good of the experiment.

OoO

I was pushing the ball cart into the storage closet after practice when the door closed on me. I heard it latch, and I whipped around. There was no knob on the inside of the door.

That's when I began to panic, because the rest of the team and Tsunade had already left. I volunteered to stay behind, because I was waiting for Sakura to pick me up to go to her house. But now, I was stuck in this oversized closet that may have been bigger than my entire house. And it was dark. I wasn't too fond of the darkness.

"Hey, who closed the door?" A familiar voice came from deep within the room, and I pressed myself so close to the door, I thought I may push myself through the heavy wood. This couldn't be happening...

As the footsteps grew closer, I could feel my heart beat slower and slower until it completely stopped when his golden mop poked out from beyond the corner.

My breath stopped as he approached me. He smiled and waved.

"You're Hinata, right?" Naruto laughed and scratched the back of his head.

I nodded, completely and utterly confused. Why was Naruto in here? I thought he had left already with Shikamaru. He continued to come closer to me. Why was Naruto smiling at me? I thought didn't exist in his world.

But most importantly, he could see me.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter Three_

"You're Hinata, right?" Naruto spoke to me with an intrepid grin, scratching the back of his head. He continued to come closer as I nodded in a response to his question.

_He's talking to me._

A cackle came from his throat whenever he stopped only a few feet in front of where I compressed myself against the door.

_He knew my name._

His posture was erect, and he crossed his left ankle behind his right. One hand clutched the back of his head while the other rested on his hip. An eye-to-eye grin stretched across his face, and I immediately was reminded of the Cheshire Cat.

_He knows that I exist._

"I'm really glad that you're helping out Coach," he said, and it sounded completely honest. My heart skipped a beat. But then I remembered that I was only helping out this week, for our experiment. "I'm sure that the guys will appreciate the help, too." Was I really that big of a deal, coming on as manager? "I know I'll appreciate the help, at least." Naruto's eyes flickered to the corner of the ceiling, and I turned my eyes to the floor.

_Say something! Talk to him, Hinata!_

"I don't think they'll think that much of it. Tsunade just said that I'd be collecting the basketballs in between drills and filling up your waters."

_My first words to Naruto. _They weren't cliche, heart-warming words, but they were words, and they were the very first words that I had ever said to him. I may not remember them forever, but maybe this will bring me closer to him.

"That's a big deal. It's agitating, during a game, when your water runs empty and you have to wait until half-time to fill it back up."

Small talk. It wasn't much, but it sure did cause my brain to fly high.

"Anyways," Naruto turned his sapphire eyes back to me, and I felt myself turn beet red. Good think it was dark in here. Never once have I ever been so grateful for the blackness. "Aren't you in my Calculus class? With Miss Yuhi?"

I didn't need to know what teacher he had, because I already knew that we were in the same class. I sat in the very back row, and always blended into the background. I was certain that sometimes Miss Yuhi forgot that I was there.

Naruto sat three rows in front of me, two columns to my left. I noticed that he wasn't very good at Calculus, because I observed him sweating like a waterfall during tests, and then glancing at people's exam grades around him, when he got his back.

"Yeah," I said. "I sit in the back."

_He noticed that I was in the same class as him._

"Cool!" Naruto moved closer and pushed on the door that I was cuddled stiffly against. "So how did this door shut? It doesn't typically do that on its own."

I glanced at the door that I had gotten quite comfortable with, and forced myself away from it. But moving further away from the slab of wood meant moving closer to the heat that radiated off of Naruto's body. The musky scent of deodorant tickled my nose, and I immediately became plastered by his manly aroma.

"It just shut." I stole a peek at his face before turning my eyes to his hand, that lay on the flat surface that barricaded them in the storage room.

"I left my phone in my gym bag in the hall." Naruto turned his back to the door and used it as support as he plopped down on the floor. "Ah, well. Someone will get us out."

Sakura would probably come open the door when she gets tired of waiting. I nodded once to myself and glanced down at Naruto, who stared up at me. Swiftly and filled with embarrassment and self-consciousness, I turned my eyes away.

"You can sit down, you know," Naruto chuckled and patted the floor. "We might be here for a while."

"Okay," I murmured and slid down onto my knees, gradually falling backwards onto my butt. Naruto crossed his legs pretzel style and leaned back on his hands. His eyes were on me, and I felt like the star of the next five-star Oscar movie. The light from his eyes poured onto me like the radiance of a hundred suns.

"You're in the chorus, right?" Naruto asked me, and he seemed interested, too. I smiled shyly.

"Yes," I nodded.

"Aren't you also in the band?"

"And orchestra."

Naruto's eyebrows raised so high, I thought they might touch his hairline. "Really? Wow." He laughed and looked down at his crossed legs. "What instruments do you play?"

He was curious about me. I smirked, delighted that he wanted to know more about me. I wasn't in any sports, like him. Quite honestly, I wasn't a fan of sports, but I loved to watch Naruto play.

"I play the flute in the band, and the viola in the orchestra." I felt as if I was bragging, and I definitely didn't want to come off that way.

"What's a viola?"

That was such a common question. Everybody thinks that there's just a violin out there, and nobody knows about the underappreciated viola.

"The viola is like the violin, only it is larger, and it has a lower string. Violins have a high E string. Viola, instead, has a C string. The C string can play notes at a lower octave than the violin can reach."

Naruto laughed and I turned my attention to him, thinking he was laughing at me. But then, I realized, that he wasn't.

"I know nothing about music. What you're saying is completely foreign to me."

"That's okay," I said, grateful that he was even listening to me and asking me questions. "Tell me about you."

Naruto became serious for a moment as he thought about what to say. He turned his eyes to the ceiling and bit the inside of his lip. "There's not much to tell. I'm a below average student who is going to rely on basketball to get me somewhere in life. My parents love me, even though I'm not a genius, and my mom makes the greatest ramen that you would ever taste." His eyes flickered in my direction, and I felt like a deer caught in beautiful headlights. "You're good at school, aren't you?"

"I'm decent." While I was definitely being modest, I didn't want to gloat. In actuality, I was in the top five for our class ranking, but of course I was beat out by Sasuke, who is number one. Shikamaru followed behind him at number two, but just couldn't beat him - a part of me thought that he was too lazy to put in the effort to reach number one. My cousin, Neji was neck-and-neck with Shikamaru, and I'm sure that he will surpass him by the end of the year. And then, there is me, at number four.

"Decent? Aren't you, like, number two in our class?" Naruto asked, and then I felt bad about not meeting his expectations of me.

"I'm number four."

"Sure as hell beats last place." Naruto jabbed his thumb to his chest, signifying that he was in the lowest portion of our class. I didn't believe him - or I didn't want to believe him. I had faith in this blonde athlete before me. "Care to tutor me? I'm sure my parents would pay you."

Right then, I think another part of me just died and went to heaven.

"I don't know how much help I'd be, but I can tutor you," I said, and Naruto leaned forward, grasping his shoes. I watched as his eyes stared at mine, and I couldn't seem to break that non-existent chain between our gazes.

"You should be more confident," he suggested, which caught me off guard. "When you devote your time to something, surely you can help, even if it may be a little bit."

_Naruto wants me to be more confident in myself._ Will that be enough motivation for me to finally let that happen?

"Okay," I nodded, "I'll try."

"Good!" Naruto flashed me a cheeky grin, and we both glanced up when we heard a voice outside of the door.

"Is anybody in here?" The soprano voice called, and it sounded just like Sakura. I was right; she did come in to find me.

Naruto took his time to stand up, clearly not in a rush to leave their current situation. But he did tap his knuckles against the wood, giving Sakura the hint that we were locked in here. The clacking of Sakura's high heels grew more audible as she approached the sound of the knock.

I stood up quickly and brushed off my jeans, and Naruto beamed at me. He was so upbeat and so...confident. That thing that I realized every day that I was not.

The doorknob on the other end of the door rattled as Sakura flung open the barricade that jammed us together in this storage closet.

A part of me was relieved that I was able to get out of that room, because I wasn't sure how well my parents would take it if I was forced to stay out all night. But then the other part wished that I would have been locked in there all night with Naruto. I could learn so much about him, and just the very thought exhilarated every cell in my body.

My thoughts were so contradicting. Could this be one of my lacking-confidence problems?

OoO

I still wasn't sure what I was doing at Sakura's house, and even why she had invited me to begin with. A part of me was still afraid that she was going to scold me for going over to Sasuke's house yesterday. But we didn't do anything wrong!

I sat on Sakura's floor and she came in carrying oversized mugs of hot chocolate. Marshmallow fluff overflowed from the bold ceramic cups.

"You don't have to sit on the floor, you know," Sakura said, raising an eyebrow and handing me the lime green jug. I accepted it shyly and took a sip, burning my lip on the scorching fluid. Sakura placed her own purple cup on her nightstand and flopped down on her bed. "You're probably wondering why I invited you over."

Yeah, I was. Oh, I should probably mention that I'm sleeping over at Sakura's tonight. She caught Neji after school and had told him that I wouldn't be coming home tonight. I didn't get a say in this, but even if I would have had a say, I don't know what I would say. I didn't want to be rude to Sakura's kind gesture. But I still wasn't sure of her intentions.

"A little bird told me that you've got zero self-confidence, and no self-confidence means you won't be able to talk to the guy you like."

Oh no, she was talking about Naruto. But who told her? Who found out to be able to tell her? Or was it just a hypothetical guy? Either way, I panicked.

My cheeks flushed cherry red and I turned my attention to my hot beverage. The cloudy puffs swirled through the circular container, reminding me of my clouded thoughts and lack of confidence.

Sakura laughed. "It's okay, Hinata. He told me, because I can probably help you build a backbone."

_He?_

"Sasuke?" I asked her, and she nodded once and placed her hands on her knees. I closed my eyes and let out a sigh. People have been trying to help me gain confidence in myself for so many years, and all have failed. Even Orochimaru - my guidance counselor - couldn't help me. If a professional couldn't help, how could a high school girl even dream of it? "How are you going to give me confidence?"

Of course, I was curious at how she planned on going about this transformation. I was lost in thought when Sakura jumped off her bed and kneeled down in front of me. I jumped, startled whenever she ripped from my grasp the coffee mug that she had only just given me. In complete and utter confusion, I gaped at Sakura, who placed the cup on the nightstand next to her own.

I could feel my eyebrows furrowing as she came back and grasped the bottom of my bulky Konoha sweatshirt. Terror struck in as she ripped my safe haven off of my body and over my head. It caught on my long, dark hair, and snagged the hair band that kept my locks braided, ripping it from my hair.

"What are you doing?!" I cried out, feeling naked in front of Sakura. My hands grasped my forearms and I held myself together. Nobody - besides my family - has seen my shoulders, or my chest. The tank top that coated my figure securely wasn't enough to shield me from the pink haired peer of mine.

Sakura tossed my sweatshirt aside and looked me up and down, grinning. "Hinata, you've been holding out on us!"

_...I've been what?_

"C'mere!" She grasped my bare wrist and yanked me up off of the floor. I wasn't entirely sure what was happening, but I didn't resist her lead. Sakura moved me in front of her full-length mirror and made me stare at myself. With tender hands, she untwisted my braid, and let the strands fall down my spine and touch the curve of my back. "Look at you. You're a freakin' hottie and you cover it up like it's leprosy."

What was she talking about? Girls like Ino were considered "hotties." Shikamaru's girlfriend - Temari - from Sand Valley High was considered a "hottie." Sakura was considered a "hottie."

What I was, was a shy little band geek that could barely work up the nerve to excuse myself when moving through a crowd. I blushed all the time, because I was always nervous around other people, and I had a tiny little voice that barely spoke above a murmur.

What those girls have is spunk and fortitude. The beauty in them just seemed to be an added bonus on their parts.

I barely noticed Sakura continuing. "I mean, look at you! You've got an hourglass figure - coveted by women everywhere. You've got the right curves in the right places. A pretty face on a body that fine is hard to come around, and you've definitely got it." She smoothed out my hair and ran her tiny little fingers through it. "And look at your hair! It's long and dark and soft to the touch."

I didn't quite understand what all of these things had to do with building my self confidence, but it seemed as if Sakura knew where to go from here.

"Hinata, nobody knows just how pretty you are, because you hide your curves with a thick, bulky sweatshirt all the time. They don't know how lush your hair is, because it's always locked tight in a braid."

_But what does that have to do with self-confidence?_ I blushed and turned my eyes to my socked feet, and I thought about Naruto for a moment. If Sakura could really help me gain my confidence, then I would be able to talk to him on my own, and not have to get locked in a closet to do so.

With a bounce in her walk, Sakura strutted over to her closet and exposed her massive stash of clothing. My gray eyes were wide with awe and I joined her in front of the colorful mass of fashion. Immediately, Sakura began searching through and picking out single pieces of clothing - shirts of different sorts.

"You probably wouldn't be able to pull of warm colors too well," she said, reaching for a violet tunic and yanking it out in dominance. "Purple and blue would probably look the best on you. Maybe green and black, too."

More clothes just kept coming out of that closet, and I soon became overwhelmed, and still unsure about Sakura's methods.

"Sakura?" I finally spoke up, but my voice was gentle. "How is this going to help me?" She handed me an emerald shirt that had no shoulders on it; it had sleeves, though.

With a cheery laugh, Sakura hung the remaining clothes that she had picked out of her closet on her white stool in front of her vanity table. "If you feel good about the way you look, that will build self-esteem. And when you feel good in your own skin, it radiates positivity around you, and others will take notice to it. Especially guys."

_Oh, Naruto,_ I thought, and couldn't help my cheeks from burning. _Will you notice?_

As if she was trying to strip me completely of my comfort zone, Sakura repeated to my tank top what she did to my sweatshirt, gripping it forcefully and whipping it over my head. I was left standing half-naked, with only a bra to cover my torso. My reaction, of course, was the same; my hands grasped my forearms and I stood there, shivering in nervousness and lacking sufficient body temperature.

I think that Sakura will force me out of my comfort zone quite quickly, even more than she already has. I know that I will not get a say in this, because she'll push me downhill and I won't be able to stop her.

Oh, how I hoped, that this would work. Even if it only worked on Naruto, I would be in heaven. There is nothing that I want more than to be by his side, supporting him every day.

_Okay, Sakura_, my thoughts said as I closed my eyes tightly and dropped my trembling hands to my sides. _Work a miracle on me._


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter Four_

I was highly uncomfortable with this. Sakura forbade me from wearing my sweatshirt to school, and had instead lent me an eggplant-colored jacket. I felt awkward, taking all of her clothes and using up all of her precious time. Under the fancy - and probably pricey - winter jacket, I had ended up picking the forest green shirt without the shoulders. It was snug, and it "complimented my curves," as Sakura had said. Although, I was still wearing my jeans from yesterday.

Sakura had done my hair this morning, outlawing my traditional braid. Instead, she let it all hang down, and she had clipped a bow at my left temple. She had also curled a few strands on the top of my head.

I felt like a girl, and I wasn't exactly sure how I was emotionally going to handle it.

People were staring at me, trying to be nonchalant, but I could see through the masks that they wore. The blood boiled under the skin of my cheeks, and I dropped my head and made a B-line for my locker. I could hear people talking, and my name came up in hushed whispers.

My locker never had so many eyes upon it, and it started sweating along with me. I kept my eyes down as my fragile little fingers turned the dial on the Masterlock that prevents others from accessing my personal belongings.

There was a presence that approached my right side, and my heart pounded and my skin perspired profusely - or so it felt.

A part of me wanted it to be Naruto, because I wanted to see if Sakura had been right about my being a "hottie." But, as always, I contradicted myself. That second part of me prayed to God that Naruto didn't see me in this uneasy and panicked state.

I couldn't force myself to glance to the side, but the person's voice made me heave a sigh of relief.

"When did you and Sakura become friends?" Neji stood at my side and leaned on the locker next to mine and folded his arms.

I liked Neji. People around us could always tell that we were related, and some people thought we were even fraternal twins. One thing that everybody got wrong about him was the fact that they had it in their heads that he was mean. Neji was anything but mean, however he was definitely a realist. He looked at everything objectively. I guess that's why they call him a genius.

"I don't know," I replied, stripping myself of Sakura's winter coat. When Neji took in the sight of my form-fitting shirt, he raised his eyebrows in shock; not because he didn't know that I had a supposed hourglass figure, but because he was well aware that I was too shy to flaunt it. "She started talking to me yesterday in English and invited me over to her house. I didn't know I was sleeping over until I got there."

"Where did that shirt come from?" He questioned, and I could hear the overprotectiveness coming out in his voice.

I glanced down at the shirt that I couldn't wear a regular bra with, and my blue-black hair fell over my shoulder.

"Sakura gave it to me. She told me to keep it." I turned around to fully face him, and I put my arms out slightly. "Does it look okay? I don't look ridiculous, do I?"

Neji's eyebrows attracted together quicker than electrons to a proton. I wasn't entirely sure what to make of this face, but I took it as a bad thing. Feeling absurd, I let my arms drop to my side and I returned to yanking textbooks out of my bag and transferring them to my locker.

A few droplets of tears dripped from my eyes and my entire face burned.

"It doesn't look ridiculous, Hinata," Neji finally spoke. "It's just different. I'm not used to you looking like an actual girl."

There was no way I could show up to Calculus looking like such a clown. Not in front of Naruto. He would definitely laugh at me the moment he catches sight of me. There was no way I could do it.

"Are you crying?" Neji's voice quivered whenever I quickly wiped my eyes and forced a small smile.

"I'm just fine," I said and closed my locker. "I've got to get to class, Neji. I'll see you after basketball practice." At that, I turned away and started down the hallway, knowing that I most definitely was not going to my first period class: Calculus.

Because I was not just fine. I didn't like this, all the people staring at me and talking about me, I mean. I know Sakura was just trying to help, and at that, she had good intentions. And maybe, had I been stronger, it would have worked. But I wasn't. I was nowhere close to being strong, and I would never have the confidence and spirit that Sakura had.

I remember whenever she had confessed to Sasuke that she liked him. It had been last year, on a rainy night, but the football game continued and the fans were going strong. Sakura was still competing with Ino for the spot of cheer captain, and Naruto and Sasuke played on Konoha's football team. I knew less about football than I did about basketball, and I didn't know what position Naruto covered.

Thinking about it, that had been our homecoming game, and the annual homecoming dance was tomorrow night. We had come out victorious over the Waves Academy, and I watched as Sakura dropped her soaking pom poms and sprinted into the stands. Her feet moved so fast as they shuffled up the steps and to the announcer's booth.

I watched her attentively, wondering what it was that she was doing. Before I could even formulate an idea, I heard her voice on the speakers on the field.

"_Sasuke!"_ she yelled, laughing nervously. Sasuke, from on the field, ripped off his helmet and turned towards the stands in response to his name being called out. All eyes turned to Sakura, who could be seen through the window _"Will you go to homecoming with me?"_ Curious to see the response to the request, the student, facility and community fans of Konoha High attention was drawn back to the field. Sasuke made a 'touchdown' sign with his arms, grinning, and the crowd went wild.

I wish I had that much confidence. Not only had she taken the initiative and asked Sasuke to homecoming - where, of course, they first became official - but she also did it in front of a large crowd. I could never do that.

I knew where I was going to spend my first period class; Mr. Orochimaru wouldn't mind if I spent that time talking to him. We had a pretty decent student-teacher relationship, because he used to live across the street from me, before my father lost his job.

I stepped into the guidance office and paced back to Orochimaru's office, which was the last on the left. Even though his door was open, I felt the need to knock before I walked in; it was common courtesy.

The tapping of my knuckles on his office door caused him to glance up from his computer and grin in my direction.

"Come in, dear," he said and lost complete interest in the technology in front of him. "That's a different style for you," he commented, and to be honest, I didn't want to hear any more. I looked silly, and I was in over my head if I thought that Sakura could help me.

Of course, I didn't say any of this.

"Do you mind if I stay here for first period?" I asked him, and he placed his elbows on his desk, folding his hands and cocking his head to look at me delicately, as if I would break if a gust of wind struck me.

To be completely honest, I felt that I would break. I wanted more than anything to have the courage to talk to Naruto on my own, and to ask him to hang out with me. I longed for it, even if we were to be nothing more than friends.

"What has you down, Hinata?" Orochimaru shattered my thoughts, and I closed the door behind me before lifelessly slumping down into one of the chairs facing his oak desk.

"I'm hopeless, Orochimaru," I said. I was the only person in the school who didn't use a title for him; that was just the relationship we had.

A painful smile tipped his lips and he sat on the edge of his bulky seat. "You're only as hopeless as you portray yourself to be," he initiated the much needed lecture on what Hinata needed to understand. "Hinata, you are no different than any of these other girls in this school. They all have their insecurities and their fears, and they learn to move past them. I think you're having trouble breaking out of your shell, and that's why it's hard for you to assert yourself and speak up.

"I'm saying this - not as your guidance counselor - but as a friend and a fellow human being: you are a smart, beautiful woman who can do anything she sets her mind to. If you really and truly want to talk to Naruto, then you will find a way to overcome your fear of speaking to people outside of your family and myself. I have no doubt in my mind that he will love you as a person, even if you only remain friends."

Orochimaru understood me. He was the only person besides Neji who knew that I had staggering feelings for the bold, burning blonde haired boy in my class. I sort of wanted to keep it that way, because if Naruto found out that I had such strong feelings for him, he would probably be weirded out and may go back to ignoring my existence.

Oh yeah, that reminded me...

"I talked to him last night," I confided and immediately grew red. Sometimes I wondered why I just didn't stay the color red. It would put a lot less work on my body.

"Oh really?" Orochimaru leaned back in his chair and propped one leg over the other. "Tell me about it, dear."

"Well, I joined the guy's basketball team as the team manager, and I was putting the ball cart away after everyone left, and somehow the door closed. I don't know how it happened, but it did, and I couldn't get out.

"And Naruto was in there. I didn't know that. But he talked to me." I beamed and shrugged my bare shoulders, my eyes squeezing shut in pure joy. "He smiled at me, and he was so nice to me." Oh! "He asked me to tutor him." And this is where I got shy again. My voice dwindled away and I touched my bottom lip with a single knuckle. My left hand was placed in my lap, and I squeezed it tight.

"So are you going to tutor him?"

"I don't know." My heart dropped as I admitted my mental dilemma, and I could feel the muscles in my face spill. My eyes were like boulders in their sockets, and I hadn't the strength to keep them up, so they plummeted to the floor.

Orochimaru's forehead crinkled as his eyes bore into my flesh. "What's holding you back?"

I let out a heavy sigh, and I slid both hands onto my lap, where they held one another tenderly. "What if he doesn't like me?"

"He'll love you," Orochimaru burst out immediately, shocking me. I stared at my old neighbor and guidance counselor, whose eye contact with me told me that he seriously believed what he said. "He will love you, Hinata. I promise you that."

For a moment, I sat there, staring at him, almost unaware of the single teardrop that wanted so desperately to escape from behind my eye. When I realized how genuine he felt about the words that spilled from his mouth, I couldn't help but let a shy, cheeky smile break my face.

OoO

I stood in front of the gymnasium doors, huffing and puffing. Originally, it had started out as my desperate struggle to take a few deep breaths before entering the same room as Naruto. I felt myself getting heated already, and I fanned myself with my hands. However, I have to admit, the heat wasn't as bad without my sweatshirt.

When I opened the heavy doors, a hurricane-like gust of wind whipped my hair back behind me, and I could smell instantaneously the aroma of men. The spicy scents invigorated my senses and lured me into the gymnasium.

I had expected to see the guys as I had walked in on them yesterday, doing drills. Today, they were arguing with Sasuke for his new rule today, also known as our Psychology experiment.

"You really expect us to be able to do this for two hours without any sort of break?!" Kiba shouted out above the rest.

"It will help build endurance." Sasuke brushed his argument off of his shoulders and turned to me, looking me straight in the eye. I trembled, but didn't hesitate to move my way over to the varsity basketball stars.

The rest of the guys glanced over their shoulders quickly to see what had caught Sasuke's eye, and the majority had to do a double take. The delayed reaction caused me to stop in my tracks and stare at the guys. Their mouths hung open, and I just wanted to run away now. Their eyes burned into my flesh, causing it to sizzle.

Truth be told, I probably would have turned around and started sprinting towards the door for dear life, only one thing happened that prevented me from doing so.

"Hey, Hinata!" That sweet voice called my name, and I fell in love with the way it rolled off of his tongue. I stole a glance of my blonde love, who leaned backwards in order to see me. He was waving a warm hand and grinning that heart-melting smile.

_Oh, Naruto._ He was the only thing that caused my feet to move forwards. I was attracted to him, and could not stop my body from moving closer and closer. I realized that I was smiling back at him, and he chuckled.

Before I knew it, I was standing in the circle with the rest of the basketball guys. I noticed a quick flicker of Sasuke's eyes between me and Naruto, but he said nothing. Instead, he placed his attention back on the team.

"The rules of today's practice are as follows: you must always be dribbling a ball, no matter what. That's two hours of dribbling practice. If one arm gets tired, move to the next. If you stop dribbling, you must shoot five foul shots. For every foul shot you miss, that's ten laps around the gym. Oh, and no sitting whatsoever."

"This is such a drag," Shikamaru folded his arms and puffed out a breath.

"C'mon, guys!" The awkward boy that I knew as Rock Lee stood up straight. "We should take this challenge from Sasuke! He is only doing what will improve our performance!"

I took mental note of the reactions of the guys individually. I could already write down that initially, the team, save for Lee, Sasuke, and Naruto, was no up to the challenge and spent a lot of time complaining. I would not be taking notes on Sasuke, since he knows about our experiment. Lee was excited to take on Sasuke's non-optional dare, and Naruto didn't look like he cared either way.

_Naruto is so cool!_ I smiled internally, having a moment within my mind.

"Practice starts now." Sasuke clapped his hands twice. "Everyone grab a ball and prepare yourselves."

With moans and groans, the team jogged over to the ball cart and searched for the perfect ball that fit their liking. Of course, Lee was the first one there.

As for me, I took my place on the bleachers, retrieving a clipboard and my notes from yesterday from my backpack. At that moment, I began the crucial part of the experiment that I shared with Sasuke.

Even though I've only been the basketball team's manager for a single day, and that it initiated for this project, I kind of liked being here. I wondered if Sasuke would find it weird that I wanted to stay. I really did want to be manager, even after our project was over.

I could be around people, and being with these guys might help build my confidence. I might make friends with these guys. To imagine, me, the tiny voiced, zero-confidence, lacking any backbone, being friends with a bunch of tough guys that all seemed to be strong mentally and physically.

And especially Naruto. If I could be friends with Naruto, I would fall to my knees and thank Sakura with every ounce of energy I had in my little body. I would also have to thank the door of the storage closet, because had it not locked me in, Naruto would have never noticed me.

I was so happy.

OoO

Practice was rough, and I could tell that the guys were exhausted. My chart of observations for each individual player was covered in notes on how the night went. I also counted how many times someone stopped dribbling, and how many foul shots they made, and how many laps that they had to run as a consequence. I'm almost positive that the data I've collected so far will help in our experiment.

The guys tossed their basketballs in the ball cart and dragged their feet into the hallway, where their gym bags lay, abandoned for an entire two hours.

I returned my notes to my book bag and zipped it up securely before hopping off of the bench to go put away the ball cart. My steps were small, so it felt like it took me forever to reach the cart. When I did, I placed my hands on it and was interrupted by a melodious voice.

"Hey, Hinata," Naruto spoke and walked over to me. His basketball shoes were no longer tied to his feet, and they were replaced by a pair of athletic sandals. His shoulders were now covered with a Konoha sweatshirt, which was the opposite coloring of mine; his was a blue shirt with gray words.

"Oh, hi, Naruto," I said, and when his eyes locked with mine, I had to blush and turn back to the ball cart. This thing was heavy; I had to yank on it with my whole body to get it to move. Naruto placed his hands on the opposing side of the cart and aided me in shoving it in the direction of our first meeting place.

"You look really nice today," he complimented me, and that was enough for my blood to boil over. "You should leave your hair down more often."

_I will!_

"Okay." I smiled.

"Do you want to come over to my house on Saturday?" he asked abruptly, and my heart immediately flatlined.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter Five_

"Do you want to come over to my house on Saturday?" Naruto asked abruptly, and my heart immediately flatlined. I was brought back to life by the excruciating pain of the overweight ball cart trampling my right foot as if it were nothing.

I gasped in a pained breath and immediately fell to the ground, grasping my foot with both hands. Naruto mimicked my falling to the floor, and he didn't really know what to do.

"Oh my God, are you okay?!" he asked. "I am _so_ sorry, Hinata."

Sasuke poked his head in, with Sakura on his arm. "Is everything okay?" he asked. Had I screamed? I don't recall screaming when my foot had been crushed, but maybe I did. But typically, my screams were silent.

"What did you do?" Sakura strutted in our direction and whacked Naruto on the head. "You're not supposed to kill her, you know."

"It was an accident!" Naruto fought back, and I knew then that I had to speak up and take the blame.

"No, it was my fault," I said, my grip on my foot never letting up. "I stopped without warning him."

Sasuke came to my left side, and Naruto moved towards my right. I wasn't sure what it was they were doing to me, but they grasped me under my arms and heaved me off of the floor. For support, I wrapped my arms around each of their shoulders. In a terrible affliction, I felt my right hand contract, squeezing Naruto's sweatshirt as if I were trying to strangle the non-existing life out of it.

A sharp breath was sucked into my lungs as my foot nipped the ground, and Naruto turned his ultramarine eyes to my grimacing face, concern painting on his.

"Bend your right knee," Sasuke ordered of me, and I did so, preventing my injured foot from sliding across the ground.

"It's okay," I heaved out the words. "I can walk."

"Your foot might be broken." Sasuke took the initiative and began walking towards the gym doors. I wasn't looking, but I could feel Naruto's eyes on me, penetrating my barriers and seeing me and only me.

Sakura grabbed Naruto's and Sasuke's gym bags and followed us as we gradually made our way out the door. "Do you need me to take her to the emergency room?"

Neji walked into the school and immediately stopped whenever he saw me slung over the two guys' shoulders. Immediately, I noticed Naruto's face drop, because he knew that we were related. Did he not want Neji thinking badly of him? He would never.

Neji knew how strong my feelings were for Naruto, but I think that he never truly believed that I would ever find the nerve to talk to him. I knew that he felt safe at that thought. Within the instant of seeing me with my arm constricted around his neck, I figured that Neji was immediately bulldozed from his comfort zone. That made two of us.

"What happened?" He stepped towards me and I saw his eyes flicker back and forth between my face and Naruto's.

"I was helping her move the ball cart," Naruto confessed in a small voice, and I realized that I had never heard him sound so soft and vulnerable, "and I accidentally ran over her foot."

"She might have broken her foot," Sasuke said and continued to move closer to Neji, handing me off like a track baton. Naruto held onto my arm and hip desperately, not wanting to let go. At that moment, I felt so sad, because I could tell that he was experiencing guilt. "It would be wise to take her to the emergency room."

Neji nodded, taking Sasuke's place as my support on the left side. "I've got her," he told Naruto, but as a reply, he whipped his head back and forth.

"I'll come with you. It's my fault."

Neji eyed me, and we had a private conversation by simply staring at one another. My face contorted, telling my dear cousin to not blame the blonde boy, that it really and truly wasn't his fault. Neji's eyebrows pulled together only slightly; the eyes of the people around us wouldn't have noticed it, but I did. I knew my cousin, and this was the face he made whenever he doubted me.

_Please_, I begged,_ just let it go._

"Do as you please."

OoO

Luckily, my foot wasn't broken too badly. But it hurt so bad, and they suggested that I purchase a shoe boot for the time being. That expense came out of Neji's pocket, because I didn't have a job right now to pay for it. I felt terrible, because Neji also had to help pay the bills around the house until Dad could find another job.

Walking was awkward, because the boot had my right foot elevated more than my left, and I felt as if I was wobbling throughout the halls. People still stared at me as I made my way to my homeroom - not because of the violet tunic that Sakura threw at me last night, but because of my new fashion statement...the boot.

I wasn't ready for it, but Lee rushed over to me, genuine worry slapped across his face. "Hinata," he said and stopped directly in front of me, standing erect like a leaning pencil. "What happened to you?"

I had to talk to him; I couldn't just ignore him.

Well, I could, but that would push me farther and farther away from my goals. I wanted to become friends with the guys on the basketball team, because they were Naruto's friends. It wasn't just that, of course. They all seemed like normal human beings. I doubt my life would ever be boring if I became friends with the team.

"I accidently ran over my foot," I explained shyly to him, but I noticed that I didn't blush, and I didn't sweat, "when I was putting away the ball cart last night."

"That is not good," he said, and I took notice to how Lee never seemed to use contractions. That was strange, but I was open to the abnormal. I had to be, didn't I? "Are you still coming to practice after school?" There was a twinkle of hope in his eyes, and it was then that I came into the realization that he considered us friends, despite the fact that this was our first time talking.

I smiled a little bit.

"Yes," I said, feeling a weight lift off of my shoulders. "I'm still coming." I wanted to come to practice and watch them play. It was no longer just a task to do for a Psychology experiment. The warmness in my body that I felt right now was something that I had never felt. It was as if my body, up until this point, had been covered in an icy shell. Now, with the nurturing concern of Naruto and Lee, I felt alive. I was a new feeling, as if someone had taken a veil away from my eyes, and everything in the world seemed more vivid and beautiful.

"Good." He grinned. "We have a game tomorrow, remember," Lee said, catching me off guard. Remember? I wasn't even told. "We get out of school early."

I nodded once and was instantly grateful that he had stopped to talk to me in the hall. I'm sure Tsunade would have told me today at practice.

The bell above our heads dinged three times, and both of us had glanced up, listening to it. That was the bell signalling that we had only five minutes left to enter homeroom.

Lee threw his hand up in the air, waving farewell as he rotated in the opposing direction. I smiled and returned the gesture, spinning around and making my way to first period Calculus. I wondered if Naruto would talk to me this morning.

I stumbled into Mrs. Yuhi's classroom with an arm full of textbooks and binders. Only a few glances flew my way, which sort of relieved me, and at the same time disappointed me. I didn't want everybody paying attention to me; just Naruto, and maybe the basketball team.

I felt greedy now, wanting to be friends with so many wonderful people. Naruto and Lee were so nice to me since I joined the basketball team as the manager two days ago. Sasuke seemed to be really nice, but he was kind of like me, and didn't know how to show his emotions to people. Even if I just made friends with Naruto, my heart would be content, and I feel as though I would have a sense of accomplishment far greater than any I have had before.

And if something were to happen, and I could finally gain the guts to ask Naruto on a date - not in front of everybody, like Sakura had to Sasuke - I think my life would be complete.

Naruto wasn't in the room yet, and I wondered where he was. Wherever he was at at this moment, he would have to hurry; homeroom starts in two minutes.

I trudged over to my desk in the back corner and dropped my books lightly on the surface, making very little noise and blending in as much as possible. To be completely honest, I didn't particularly mind if the rest of the class continued to ignore me. I just wanted to talk to Naruto, and see Naruto smile at me, and listen to him laugh.

But even though I waited patiently, sitting at my desk with my hands folded on my lap, Naruto never showed up.

OoO

After that, my day was gloomy and I continued on with my typical, daily life of being an invisible misfit. I tried to keep my head up high when I opened those gymnasium doors. Once again, the massive amount of air sent my long midnight locks soaring back behind my shoulders. It wasn't like yesterday, where the guys were yelling at Sasuke for his ridiculous rule. Tsunade was back, and the guys were "scrimmaging," as she had called it that day when I first started.

I walked with my eyes down, moving around the outside of the court, as so not to get in the way of the guys and their practice.

I wasn't exactly paying attention to what was happening on the court, and the result of my carelessness ended up being an almost-basketball to the side of my head. When I saw it zip past my vision, I stopped dead in my tracks and my breathing stopped.

"Sorry, Hinata!" the voice I've been waiting to hear all day called out to me, and my head rotated to see Naruto sprinting towards me. He was here? But I haven't seen him all day, and he wasn't in Calculus today. I was confused, but also I was relieved to know that he was okay and in good health. The breath that had built up in my lungs dispersed through the air around me as I turned completely around to face my beloved crush. "I guess it would help if I hadn't airballed that shot." He scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously.

Seeing this side of him - the side that I could relate to - made me realize that he was a human too. He had nerves too, and he had his flaws and weaknesses; coming to this realization only made my heart warm with unending love for him.

I beamed an anxious smile at Naruto and folded my hands behind my back. My gaze stalked him as he bent down to retrieve his basketball that lay at my feet, and I took notice to how is his caught sight of the shoe boot. He didn't let any emotions show, but I vividly remember the grimace that stapled across his face last night in the emergency room.

With a quick chuckle, he turned around and continued on his way, as I did too.

OoO

Naruto and Lee came up to me after practice and forbade me from moving the ball cart, for fear that my left foot would suffer the same fate as my right. Instead, the two muscular boys forced it into the closet by themselves, and I felt useless as a manager. That was my job, but they were still doing it.

I gathered up my notes on the team's actions and shoved them neatly into my Psychology binder, which was dunked into my backpack almost carelessly. Tsunade was still on the bottom bleacher, recording different statistics for her players for the day. I stepped down and touched my feet to the hardwood floor, waving bye to her, and she returned the gesture in a highly friendly manner.

I blushed a little in joy that I was finally being accepted by the people around me, and I was enjoying myself. Flying high, I exited the gym, only to be called over by Naruto, who was on the floor, taking off his shoes swiftly. I glanced over to my right and saw Neji walk into the school, and I also took notice to how he stopped, holding back so I could talk to Naruto.

_I love Neji_, I thought. _He is so nice to me._

I turned to Naruto and dragged my feet over to him. While I was still wondering why he suddenly had an interest in talking to me, I wasn't planning on questioning it. It was everything I ever wanted, and it all happened so quickly that it felt like a dream. If it was a dream, and if I was in a coma in the hospital, I never wanted to wake up from it. Finally, my heart was content.

"I never got to get an answer from you last night," he said and quickly stood up, slipping his socked feet into his athletic sandals. Even though I knew the pending question, my body stiffened and I felt the air suck up in through my nose, only to be held captive by my lungs. "Do you want to come over on Saturday?"

_Yes! Yes, Naruto, yes!_ My inner-self screamed out, but it couldn't find a way to migrate the message to my larynx. I couldn't speak. Physically, I could not seem to force the air out of my mouth, let alone words. All I could do was gulp and nod. It took all the energy in my body to keep myself from crying tears of joy.

"Remember," Sasuke interjected before leaving with Sakura, who had just finished cheer practice. Her legs were so skinny, and her pleated skirt was extremely short. I could never wear something like that. It was difficult enough not wearing my bulky sweatshirt for the past two days. If she ever made me wear something like that, I would probably die of embarrassment. "You're coming over to my house in the morning to work on our project."

_That's right!_ I completely forgot about that. _Darn it..._

"Okay," Naruto heaved his gym bag up onto his shoulder. "Well I could always walk to Sasuke's house and pick you up; if you want to come over, I mean."

"Sure," was all I could choke out, and my blood boiled over under my skin, painting me burgandy.

"Okay!" Naruto patted his shorts, before leaning down and unzipping his gym bag. I didn't know what he was doing, and I observed his every movement. From out of his blue bag, he yanked out a slip of paper that looked like an old hall pass. On the floor, a lone pencil had been abandoned, most likely by someone who had had gym class today. Naruto snatched it and began scribbling something on the paper. He whipped it at me, and I accepted it, taking it from his grasp. When I glanced at it, I realized that it was a phone number of some sort. "That's my cell number," he informed me, and I internally died, once again. "Call me when you're done working on your project, and I'll meet you at his house."

At this very moment, I believe, I could have lost consciousness.


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter Six_

The weekend could not come soon enough. I had been charged for Saturday, and I sort of wanted to skip past the working at Sasuke's house on our Psychology experiment.

But, of course, I was only human, and there was no possible way I could jump through time. I had to take a number and wait in line like everybody else, but my moment with Naruto would come. And it was planned! It wasn't like our first meeting on Tuesday, when we got locked in the storage closet in the gym.

No, instead, I would be at his house with him, and I was going to tutor him in Calculus and any other subject that I could help with. I wanted him to succeed, and I wanted to be around him. His idea of my tutoring him completed both desires in a nice bundle.

Sasuke and I sat on his bedroom floor, sorting through the data that I had taken over the past week at practices. He read through my notes, and kept everything organized by the date. I hoped that all of the records met his standards of what he had imagined.

"Hmm." He hummed and placed the data from Friday on the floor at his left thigh. "I wasn't expecting it to be this elaborate." Dark, charcoal irises turned to mine, and I dropped my gaze. "I mean this will definitely help whenever we have to present and write our essay on it."

"So it's not too much?" I questioned softly, strangling my wrist in nerves. I was so excited for us to be done so that I could go see Naruto outside of school.

"In the world of science, there is no such thing as too much data." Sasuke glanced at our data and then scrunched his nose. "I think it's safe to hypothesise that whenever one is faced with circumstances that pull them out of their norm and rhythm, they freak out."

I thought of my reaction on Wednesday whenever I walked into school in Sakura's shirt with no shoulders. I remembered all the eyes that bore into my skin like needles, and how often I heard my name slip past someone's lips in a secretive whisper. Having been yanked out of my normal way, I wanted to cry, and almost did when Neji had said nothing when I asked if I looked okay. I probably would have gone to Sakura and told her thanks, but no thanks, however Naruto talked to me. He didn't need to be locked in a room with me to talk to me, and he initiated conversation. Of course, our conversing hadn't lasted long, due to the fact that he accidentally ran over my foot with a heavy ball cart.

Yes, I believe it _is_ safe to assume that humans are creatures of habit, and do not enjoy having that habit broken.

"I believe that is true," I admitted, from a scientific and also from a personal standpoint. Sasuke nodded and jotted down a few notes into his Psychology notebook. The two of us were completely silent as he did so, the only sound being the minute scratching of pen on paper.

"How exactly do you think we should arrange the data, in order to make it easiest to present?" Sasuke questioned me, catching me off guard. I had to think for a moment, and so I turned my eyes to the floor. My hair - as it has been doing for the last few days - fell over my shoulder and brushed my arms in the process. The ocean blue long sleeve shirt that Sakura gave me hid the goosebumps that I had rising on my arms, but it couldn't possibly cover the ones that formed on my chest.

"A Powerpoint presentation, possibly?" I said, completely lacking confidence in my response to his question.

"That's what I was thinking."

_Should I ask Sasuke if I can stay on the team?_ My thoughts wandered to the question that I've been asking myself over and over since Thursday night. I really, really wanted to continue to be the manager of the guy's basketball team, but I think Sasuke might find it weird.

"You can have your life back," Sasuke muttered without even flashing a glance in my direction, and I simply stared at him for a minute before it clicked. He was talking about the exact topic on my mind. "Sorry that this project broke your foot and nearly decapitated you."

_Go on, Hinata._ The strong part of my conscience - the one that wanted to stand up and be strong, but was always beaten down - coaxed me. _Tell him._

"Um, actually," my diminutive voice spoke up, and Sasuke stopped writing in his notebook. He turned his full, undivided attention to me and I blushed and squeezed my wrist tighter. "I was actually thinking..." Oh no. My hands began shaking as the nerves built up. "...maybe..." I squeezed my eyes shut and inhaled deeply through my nose. Sasuke said nothing, and he waited patiently for me to work up the courage to say what I needed to say. "...I want to continue being manager." There, I said it.

Sasuke shrugged. "Do what you want," he said, and I turned my eyes to him, astounded.

"R-really?"

"Who am I to say what you can and can't do?" He began scribbling in his spiral bound notebook for a moment, and then abruptly stopped. Without lifting his head from the trajectory of the paper, he spoke to me. "Go call Naruto."

I was confused. It seems like that was a constant state for me lately. I was now completely baffled by the social interactions of these people that I was not formerly accustomed to. When I didn't say anything, Sasuke spoke up again.

"You're going over to his house today, right?" I couldn't say anything, so I swallowed hard and nodded. "So go. I've got everything else under control."

It took me a second to register his words, and then I remembered one detail. "May I borrow your phone?" My family couldn't afford to buy cell phones, and quite frankly, I never really needed one up until this point. Neji knew my schedule, and he picks me up whenever I need to get home, so I never really needed to call someone.

Sasuke fished his cell phone out of his pocket, and I was marveled at how technologically advanced it looked. It's outward appearance looked fancier than anything I could ever find at my house. I inspected him like a girl who spent her life under a rock; he clicked a button on the top, which made the device light up, and he slid his index finger across the screen. I noticed a keypad come up, and I glanced away so he could input the password that he used to keep it locked. My eyes returned to him when he reached out, extending his right hand out and handing me the cell phone, which I cradled in both hands.

"His number is already saved in my phone."

Okay, but I had to find it. All the little icons on the screen confused me, but I found a button that looked like the phonebook on my kitchen counter. I felt like such a caveman. I clicked that button, and it led me to a list of names that I was unfamiliar with. I had seen other people using these sorts of phones, so I figured out how to scroll down rather quickly. I whipped my finger up across the screen and names went flying by faster than I could read them.

_How did I get from letter A to letter S in that small movement?_ I was befuddled at how sensitive the thing was, and so I took in that information. As if it were a small child, I tenderly placed my index finger on the screen and slowly dragged it down towards my stomach until I found Naruto's name. Touching his beautiful name, I saw his number, and I clicked the call button.

Still, as if it were a fragile kitten, I cradled it with both hands and maneuvered it closer to my ear, pressing it against my cartilage. Listening attentively, my ears took in the sound of the artificial ringer on the other end of the phone.

With every buzzing ring, I grew less and less confident that he would answer the phone. I also wasn't sure how long I would be able to keep listening to ringing. Sooner or later, I knew, I would chicken out and give Sasuke his phone back and go home.

In complete honesty, I almost did give up. I was about ready to disconnect Sasuke's phone from Naruto's when his voice answered the phone.

"Hello?" he answered and yawned on the receiving line.

I woke him up, it sounded like. Nice work. Now he's going to be sleepy and irritated at me.

Splitting my body in two once again, a part of me wanted to say nothing and hang up quickly, while the other part wanted to ask him if I woke him up.

"Um, Naruto?" I forced myself to say, and I could almost see him spring up out of bed. His voice suddenly grew brighter and more energetic.

"Oh hey, Hinata!" he laughed into the phone. "Why are you calling from Sasuke's phone?"

I was about to answer that question myself, but Sasuke beat me to it. "She doesn't have a cell phone, idiot."

_Poor Naruto_, I sighed. _He didn't know. _

"Are you done at Sasuke's already?" he asked, and that was when I realized that he slept in, because he thought that our project would have taken longer.

"Yes." I nodded, despite the fact that I knew perfectly well that he couldn't see the gesture.

"Okay," he replied, and I heard the screaming of bedsprings on the other end of the line. "I'll come get you."

"Okay." I smiled. Once again, I knew he could not see the facial expression, but I felt the need to do it anyway. Naruto hung up the phone, and I handed Sasuke back his.

I was excited, and I couldn't wait for him to get here. Every second that ticked away, I felt like a forever had dragged by. Sasuke had led me down to the first floor, and we sat down on the couch in his living room. Itachi was there too, reading a textbook. When we had entered the room, he glanced up, grinned at me, and then returned his eyes to the words on the page.

I was honestly amazed at all the high end goods that surrounded every room of the Uchiha condo. The furniture looked as if it costed more than my entire house, and naturally, I felt insecure around it, and wouldn't dare sit on it.

Walking around the room and observing everything that there was to see, I took in the color scheme. Reds and browns were absorbed into my soft gray eyes, and took me to a whole different world. I had never really taken the time to look around Sasuke's house, even though this was only my second time being within its walls.

However, I had to do something to pass the time away until Naruto came knocking on the door. I could have screamed - silently, of course. I couldn't seem to control the excitement raging around in my body, however the mask that I had been so accustomed to wearing aided in hiding my ecstatic feelings.

So many minutes ticked by, and they gradually turned into an hour. By this time, I was losing all hope that he would actually show up. I ended up sitting down on the plump, brick colored recliner, despite my insecurities. They had been overridden by the feeling of abandonment that I felt clenching my heart in its cruel and relentless grasp.

More minutes passed, and still no Naruto. I stood up, and Sasuke, who was still waiting with me in his living room, glanced up with pity deep within his eyes.

Holding back the disappointment that I so clearly held, I forced an innocent smile to my partner.

"I'm going to the bathroom," I told him, and his eyebrows pulled together.

"Okay." That was all he had to say, which relieved me, because I didn't want to talk about it. It was hard enough to know that I had been ditched by the person who I really and truly loved with my entire entity.

I held in my emotions as I made the walk of shame through Sasuke's house, stumbling across his father once, and getting directions to the closest bathroom. He pointed me down the hall and to the left, where another open hallway awaited me. The bathroom was further down and on the left.

The moment I stepped onto the bath tiles, I slammed the door shut gingerly and lowered myself to my knees. All the emotion that I had held bundled up deep within my body was released and reigned over my physical being. I couldn't help but curl my chest to my knees and cry like a child. I don't think I have ever been so hurt in my life.

My body quickly grew hot as all my energy was released into my muted tears, and the coolness of the bathroom floor radiated across my face.

At this moment, I wasn't so sure that all this help that Sakura aided me with was even worth it. The ripping pain in my chest, and the feeling of being forsaken by the one person I held so dear, I don't know if I could take it. I didn't like this at all, and I felt as though I could stay bundled up in this bathroom, and nobody would notice my existence.

Maybe that was for the best - if I went back to being invisible to everybody around me. I'm sure that there would be less strain on my aching heart.

So, it was decided. I would return all of the shirts that Sakura has given to me out of the goodness of her heart, and I would retrieve my safe haven. I'd go back to the way things were a week ago, because they were working out so well for me.

But no matter what I did physically, the tender memories and emotions that had consumed me this past week would always be there. They'd always come and haunt me every time I would see Naruto, or Lee, or anybody else that I have come to like.

Would it be worth it, I wondered, to throw all of my efforts away? I knew that no matter what I did, I would still cherish Naruto with everything I had. Nothing he could do could ever erase the benevolent love I held for him. He was Naruto, and I was in love with him, as I had been since middle school.

I was in love with everything he was, and everything he could be. The way he walked wasn't graceful, like the knight in shining armor that most girls spent all of their time dreaming about. He didn't speak using proper English. Sometimes he came to school without brushing his hair, or he would still be half asleep. He wasn't the perfect student, and he skipped class and received basic grades on exams. He could be impulsive and loud, and sometimes he lacked the seriousness needed for the occasion.

But he was Naruto. In my eyes, he was the perfect, imperfect human being. I don't think I could have fallen for someone who was perfect in the eyes of society, because I feel as though they wouldn't have a personality.

I was still crying, huddled on my knees on Sasuke's bathroom floor. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to get up and go home. I didn't want to bother Sasuke and his family by taking up the space in his house and breathing the air that they needed to breathe.

Maybe I should go home. But first, I had to stop myself from crying hysterically. With a deep inhale, I took deep breaths, trying so desperately to keep myself under control.

There was a knock on the door, and a voice that was sort of familiar echoed on the other side.

"Hinata?" The voice that I know I've heard before asked softly. It clicked after a second, and I recognized it as Itachi. "Are you okay?"

I wiped my eyes with the palm of my hand and fixed my flowing hair. Quickly moving to my feet, I placed my hand on the cold knob and twisted, yanking the door open in the same motion. The similar face of my classmate appeared in the hall, and I couldn't look him in the face. I didn't want him to see me in such a mess.

"I'm fine," I said with a quiver in my voice, and I gently pushed past him. "I'm heading home, now."

I would have to walk back to my house, despite the fact that my foot was still broken and sheltered by this shoe boot. I would make it; I would have to walk slow, because the bones in my foot still ached under my weight.

Weaving through the halls, I made my way back to the living room, where Sasuke was still seated where I left him. His eyes turned to me, and I knew that he was aware of my tears.

"Are you okay?" He sounded exactly like his brother when he asked me this.

"Yeah," I lied terribly, sniffing once and moving my weighted feet towards my backpack, which I had abandoned on the carpet. "I'm heading home, now."

Sasuke didn't say anything, because he was like me. He knew that there was nothing to say, and that nothing he could have said would change the fact that Naruto never showed up.

I showed myself out of his house, pacing down his walkway slowly. The boot that encased my right leg inhibited me from moving at the speed I wanted to. Quite honestly, I wanted so badly to run home and stay locked in my room for a little while.

I knew that Naruto's standing me up would get around the school quite quickly. Sasuke would tell Sakura, and Sakura would tell the cheerleaders, and the cheerleaders had their own friends and boyfriends. I would be the laughing stock of Konoha High.

Maybe I should transfer schools.

Of course, that would be the easiest thing to do to solve my current problem. However, I knew that my credits could get messed up if I transferred now, as a junior. I was also painfully aware that I could transfer to another country, but the fact that I got stood up by the only person I ever fell for would constantly obsess in my mind.

And now, as I walked alone down the bleak sidewalks, I didn't care who saw me. I didn't care who watched.

I cried.


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter Seven_

"Hinata!" The voice that I had been waiting all day to hear shouted my name, and footsteps grew closer rapidly. They reached me just as I turned around to face him, but they didn't stop. Naruto crashed into my body, strangling me in a tight embrace.

I didn't know what to do, or if even this was reality. Did I collapse in the middle of the street, and was I now caught in the daze of a dream? I completely lost my balance, and as a reaction, I grasped Naruto's varsity jacket as tightly as I could, for dear life. But he didn't let me fall. He held me up using his own strength from his own body.

Naruto was out of breath, but he spoke in my ear. "I'm so sorry, Hinata," he said, puffing out warm air onto my icy flesh. The muscular arms that constricted around my torso compressed, and had they not been Naruto's arms, I probably would have suffocated. "My mom, she had an allergic reaction to an avocado, and I had to give her an EpiPen. I had to stay with her until my dad made it home from work."

Was this really happening? Naruto was here, and I was bundled up in his arms with tears still rolling down my cheeks.

"I didn't forget about you," he said. "I would never do that to you."

Somehow, I found the strength to contract the hold my fingers had on his jacket, squeezing it so tightly that my knuckles turned white. But I still couldn't speak, and I still wasn't convinced that this was actually happening. It would have been too good to be true, and that kind of stuff never happened to me.

"After my dad got home, I grabbed my jacket and I ran as fast as I could to Sasuke's house, and I had hoped you were still there. When I pounded on the door, he opened it, and the moment he saw my face, he punched me in the face."

I couldn't help myself. I continued to cry in Naruto's arms. It was hard for me to believe it, but I think that this may be really happening. If it was, it made me so happy.

"He told me that you started walking home by yourself, and that you were really sad. So I followed the direction Sasuke said you went."

_Oh, Naruto_.

"Hinata, are you crying?" He asked, a dagger of guilt stabbing him, or so it appeared from the twinge in his voice.

"Of course not," I sniffed, clearly lying. But I didn't want him to become concerned about me. I was just so happy that he hadn't deliberately left me hanging.

"I'm so sorry," he apologized again, smothering me in his warmth and welcoming arms.

From that moment forward, Naruto and I had been inseparable. It was as if some kind of switch had been flipped, and instantly we were the best of friends. I didn't mind, of course, because each and every day, I found myself loving him even more than I did yesterday. We spent mostly all of our time together, and because of that, I rapidly grew closer and closer to the guys on the basketball team. One by one, I would come into acquaintance with one of the guys' girlfriends, and we hit it off rather quickly.

Of course, Sakura and I were already friends...

Actually, speaking of Sakura, I found out how all of this began:

We began presenting our Psychology experiments to the class and to Gai, and I learned the topic of Sakura and Tenten's project: Is it possible to give insecure people confidence? They presented their data, and I realized that the reason Sakura had begun talking to me out of the blue three weeks ago was because she wanted to use me as the guinea pig for her experiment. I found out that Sakura was the one who had shut me in the closet that very first night, knowing that Naruto was also in there.

While I was angry at the fact that I had been used without realizing it, I was also very grateful to Sakura. Without her, I wouldn't have come this close to Naruto, simply because I was too afraid to talk to him and show him that I actually exist.

Even though I was only the pawn in her experiment, Sakura and I became good friends, and she still helped me with my inferior complex. She and Sasuke were so nice to me; because they knew my family barely had enough money to support all of the dependents and pay the bills, they - mainly Sakura, with the help of Sasuke's wallet - took me out and bought me a new wardrobe that almost put Sakura's to shame.

Of course, I had denied that they spend that kind of money on me whenever I could never dream of paying them back. In a response, Sakura told me to shut up and try on the clothes that she had in her hands. I did as she wanted me to, and I tried on everything that she threw my way, clearly having no intention of purchasing it with the money I didn't have. We had been shopping for hours, and I had not let Sakura by me a single thing.

After she took me home, she had gone back and purchased every article of clothing that I had fallen in love with. She bought me shoes of multiple assortments, and I couldn't picture myself wearing high heels. I had so many new clothes that I didn't know if I'd have enough days left in high school to wear them all, and it was only April of my junior year.

When Sakura had left my house, leaving everything she bought me in my room, I had gone over to Sasuke's house to ask what to do about all of the stuff.

_"You keep them,"_ he said to me as if I had no idea what the word 'gift' meant. "_And you wear them."_

Clearly, I had an argument and spoke it shyly, using as much force as I could. All my efforts were failures, because Sasuke slapped his forehead.

_"Listen, Hinata,"_ he used a firm voice, as if he were spelling something out to me, _"I already asked my parents if I could have the money. I told them I needed it for a gift for a friend who was less fortunate, and they took no time to throw it at me."_

But so much money was spent on everything that Sakura had brought over to my house. She had had to make three trips out to her car in order to get everything.

_"Enjoy it_," Sasuke said before shutting the door in my face. From there, I walked home, sort of excited to see what was in all those bags.

Everything that was purchased for me was so beautiful, especially this beautiful black and turquoise dress with octopuses on it. The straps were that of a halter top, tying around the back of the neck, and the length of the dress reached my knees. If there was anything I was most excited about, it was that dress.

Suddenly, the closet in my room that had been used for a few shirts, a sweatshirt, and a pair of jeans, was now stuffed with cool-colored clothing, organized by style. When cramming all of my new apparel into the closet, I thought about how Sakura's closet was organized, and tried to go by that.

It took me so long to put everything where I wanted it, and Neji had walked in on me, his face in awe, and I knew he was thinking I robbed a store. I had to explain to him that all of this was a gift from Sakura and Sasuke, but I couldn't tell if he believed me or not. I knew that he would ask them himself if my story was true.

Later in April, Tsunade took the team out to a belated congratulatory dinner for their victory in the districts tournament. I got to wear my octopus dress for that occasion, and the guys complimented me on it.

We went out to a fancy and rather pricey Italian restaurant and ate like kings, or at least I did. I wasn't entirely sure what everybody else normally ate, but I was pretty sure it wasn't canned soup night after night.

I sat in between Naruto and Lee, and the circular that the waitress had set us at was perfect for all around conversation. It never really occurred to me how close everybody on the team was. Shikamaru always seemed to dislike his teammates, minus Choji. But tonight, I could tell that my perceptions had been false. And Tsunade, too. I could tell how much she cared about her team, and I knew that she was going to miss all of them next year when we graduate.

Except for Lee. He was graduating in only two months, and the dinner was in commemoration of his last time with the basketball team.

I was really sad to know that Lee was leaving in only sixty days, and I was even more distraught when I realized that there was no way to keep in touch with him after graduation. He told me to give him my address, which I did without asking why, and he said that we'd have to do it the old fashioned way - by writing letters back and forth. That made me so happy.

The entire night, I listened to all of the guys talk and laugh and share memories. They reminisced about times that had passed by too quickly. There were so many great things that everyone had to say, and I felt like I learned so much about each of those boys and their character and history. I also learned that Lee and Neji had been best friends in junior high, but split upon reaching high school. Lee said he didn't know why, and Neji had never mentioned it, even when I brought up stories about Lee at the dinner table.

Everything in my life seemed to be perfectly content, and I was happy.

June came, and with it came graduation. Naruto accompanied me as I went to celebrate for both Neji and Lee. Sasuke and Sakura ended up coming with us, but disappeared in between the time we got there and the time that graduation started.

I didn't know where they went, but Naruto did.

_"Sasuke and Sakura are always having sex,"_ he told me, and at first, I didn't believe him. I didn't think Sakura was like that, because she definitely didn't show it. However, after graduation, the four of us went back to Sakura's house and had a small party. Sakura said that she was going to order some pizza for us, and she left the room, despite the fact that her cell phone was lying next to her. Sasuke went with her, and the two didn't return for about a half an hour.

When they finally did return, Naruto asked what kind of pizza she ordered, and her response was, _"what pizza?"_ That's when I knew that Naruto wasn't lying about the nature of Sakura and Sasuke's relationship.

While a part of me was envious of her physical relationship - curiosity killed the cat - the other part was afraid for her. I didn't want her to have an unplanned pregnancy, especially since we were going to be entering our senior year of high school in three months.

The two left again, but this time, they were driving to the pizza place to order it there. And they left Naruto and me alone together.

We lay on Sakura's floor, talking and laughing. We established that the two of us were like polar opposites, and a part of me rejoiced at that, because according to chemistry, opposites attract. However, the other part of me was afraid that we were not compatible as future lovers.

I'm sorry. I'm becoming greedy. I know that I said I would be content if Naruto and I could be friends, and I am content, however I would not object to a deeper relationship between us.

Over the summer, Naruto and I spent almost every waking moment in each other's company. He took me to the beach with him and his parents, who welcomed me enthusiastically. Naruto was a spitting image of his father, Minato, but I could see that he acted like his mother, Kushina. Kushina and I became close so quickly, it was almost as if she was a new best friend.

I think Naruto soon became jealous, as if his mother was taking his place. At times, he had to pry me away from her, much to her dismay. In Kushina's words, I was "such a cutie," and of course I blushed every time she called me this.

Naruto and I spent so much time together, that Sakura began to believe that we were actually a couple now. I told her that we weren't, but she just wouldn't believe me. I mean, yeah I hoped that soon he would ask me to be his girlfriend, but I wasn't big on rushing it and risking losing him completely.

When school started again, we compared schedules, and found that we had many of the same classes together. Our first period class was a health and sexual education class, taught by a man named Jiraiya. I felt nervous having that class with Naruto, just due to the fact that I was curious about the kind of relationship that Sakura and Sasuke had, and also wanted to be in a relationship with Naruto. Would both of those kinds of relationships eventually merge together, I wonder. Second period, we had Biology with Mr. Iruka, and third period was Economics with Mr. Asuma. We didn't share fourth period; I had English with Mr. Hatake again, and he had to repeat Calculus, so he took English online.

Despite the fact that Naruto had asked me to tutor him, I never got the chance. We were always distracted by being pulled into deep conversations, and just never dusted off the textbooks, like we originally planned.

At home, I helped out a lot by getting a part time job at the local book store. Actually, Naruto recommended me for the job, and put in a good word in for me to his boss. I got hired, and we typically worked the same shifts. Whenever the store wasn't busy, we would sit there and talk to one another, sometimes talking about school, and other times just conversing in general.

Most of the time, we talked about things that really didn't matter, and other times, we discussed deeply where we wanted to go in life after high school.

_"Well, there's no way any college will accept me,"_ he had said one day, and I wanted to be positive, but I knew what his grades and work ethics were like. _"I don't think I'd mind working here for a while. I want to find a girlfriend-"_ my heart skipped a beat and I blushed and turned my eyes to the counter; he didn't notice, because he sometimes looked up at the sky or the ceiling when he talked. _"-and I want to fall in love with her and make her my wife. I already know I'd love to have kids someday."_

Sometimes, I couldn't stop myself from imagining myself as his wife, and I realized that I wanted nothing more than to be that. I could live in poverty for the rest of my life, but as long as I was married to Naruto, I'd be completely and one hundred percent happy.

At night, sometimes, I would have erotic dreams. I started having them whenever I learned of Sakura's intimate relationship with Sasuke, and the dreams glittered my sleep with passion and heat. All I could think about sometimes was my naked body compressed against Naruto's and the two of us flying high in the ectasy of our love.

The dreams embarrassed me, so I never told anybody about them.

But then other times, I my dreams were calm, and I imagined my body round with a new life growing, of Naruto's child a part of me.

These dreams made me seriously think about wanting children. Not now, of course, but sometime in the future. And I smiled to myself whenever I was all alone and thinking about the possibility of Naruto and I conceiving beautiful children together.

But at this, of course, I was well aware that I was getting ahead of myself.

A girl could dream though, couldn't she?

Everything in my life was worthwhile. If I had died through that summer, and at the beginning of that school year, I would have died a happy lady. I led a happy life. I had made great friends, and I was in contact with Lee, who was currently at a university. My wardrobe was something that I thought only existed in fairy tales, and it was a gift from a very generous friend. I spent most of my time in the company of the hyperactive blonde boy of my dreams, and we were still growing closer and closer.

Everything was perfect.

I was happy.

Until that terrible day in late November...

OoO

Naruto and I sat together in Economics, listening to Mr. Sarutobi drone on and on about goods and services. We secretly passed a note back and forth, planning out what we wanted to do this weekend. It was only Wednesday, but soon, we were going to be off for Thanksgiving break. We were excited, and I knew that I definitely wanted to spend as much of my time with Naruto as possible.

Snow fell the night before, and the windows leading to the outside world were covered in frost. I sat next to the window, and Naruto sat in the desk directly in front of me. The snowfield that surrounded the school's body was twinkling whenever the sunlight tipped its crystal surface, creating the vivid image of a winter wonderland.

I noticed that I had been losing so much focus in my schoolwork, however my rank never faltered. Even if it did, I would rather be within the top ten and have friends, than to be in the top five, and have no friends. That was a trade I was willing to make.

There was a tap at the door on the far left of the room, and all eyes turned towards the door. A police officer in a full uniform stood there, waiting for Mr. Sarutobi to hurry it up and answer his call. All eyes were upon the officer, curious about what it was that he was doing here in the high school.

I kept my head down towards my desk - an old habit that I never rid myself of. Whether I liked it or not, I was still shy, and I was still self-conscious and insecure. That's just the kind of person I am, and I doubt any training and motivation from Sakura could ever change that.

"Hinata Hyuga," the man in uniform said, and all eyes burned holes into my flesh. "I need to speak with you in the hall."

Naruto turned around and whispered harshly, "what did you do?"

At the moment, I wasn't too concerned with answering him. At this point, I really wanted to know why a man from the local police had shown up at my school, in search of me. I trudged across the pit of pricking stares until I reached the man who had summoned me to the door.

Together, we stepped out in the hallway, and he placed his hands on his hips, looking for the words to say to me. The door to the classroom didn't shut, and I could still feel those painful eyes bearing deep into my back.

"Miss Hyuga," he started, and I listened, the tension inside of me building until it just about burst. "There's been an accident."


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter Eight_

"There's been an accident," the police officer who stood before me said in a serious and hushed tone. My heart plummeted to the center of the earth, and I swallowed my tongue in fear. "Your parents and cousin have been hit by an eighteen wheeler; your parents were pronounced dead on the scene." He quickly grasped my forearms and held me up as I began to black out.

_No..._

My vision clouded and somebody who was invisible to me penetrated my chest and ripped my heart from my aorta, and I bled everywhere. The pain was too great, that I felt I would not survive. I was suffocating, struggling to take in air. I knew that I was breathing, but it was as if somebody had cut the ties between my trachea and my lungs, and I was like a fish out of water.

"Your cousin," he continued, staring me in the eye, "was taken to the hospital. He's still alive, but he is in critical condition."

Neji...He was still alive. There was still some sort of light at the end of the tunnel in my eyes, and I regained complete consciousness, enough to where the police officer released his hold on my arms.

_Neji_...

I took off in a sprint down the hall, and the officer took no time whatsoever to stalk after my movements, quickly catching up to me, but never once running ahead of me. I pushed my body so hard, and I couldn't remember any time I had ever moved so fast in my entire life. But I embraced the aching, and I suffered through the lack of oxygen to my lungs, because right now, it wasn't about me. Right here and right now, I had to focus on Neji, and I had to be by his side and hold his hand, and encourage him to cling to his life.

I don't know what I would do, I realized, if everybody had been taken away from me. My body was already experiencing ripping pain that I knew was triggered by my brain and what I knew, but it felt all too real. My heart cried out, screaming from my chest, and praying for Neji's safe return to life on Earth.

My heart pounded faster than my feet ever possibly could as I bounded through the lobby of Konoha high and out the front doors into the snowfield, where the officer's patrol car was parked. It was only then that he raced in front of me, and that was only for the reason of being the person to open the front passenger seat for me to jump into.

Once I was completely sheltered inside the vehicle, the officer slammed the door shut and scurried over to the driver's side, where he repeated my movements. Both of us clicked our seatbelts and were off within the same instant, racing towards the hospital that the ambulance had taken my dear, dear cousin Neji to.

The interior of the vehicle was still warm from the officer's drive from the scene of the accident to the school, and my cells breathed a sigh of relief to be away from bitter temperatures.

I folded my hands together and they held one another so tightly that I thought the skin on my knuckles may burst open with the severe pressure. My insides felt as though they were falling out of my body, and in order to keep them safe within me, I hunched over, resting my elbows on my thighs.

The pain, the concern, the grieving and the dread all spit at me at once, kicking me and knocking me down. They were cruel beings, laughing at my weakening body and spirit, and I let out my tears. They felt cold against my hot flesh, streaming down my cheeks like a waterfall of sorrow and grief.

_Neji,_ my thoughts called to him, and a dagger poisoned with discontentment skewered my broken heart. _Mom, and Dad..._ Now, all over, my entire body was being punctured by all of these nonexistent needles that dug their way into my skin and muscles. They hadn't a care whether or not my nerves got in their way. Every pin that stabbed me ripped through me as if I were nothing more than cotton.

Images of my dear parents flashed through my vision as I squeezed my eyes shut in an attempt to endure the delusional torment.

My mom. She was a kind lady, always caring and nurturing. The perfect mother figure. Whenever Neji's parents died, she welcomed him into our home with warm, open arms. Never once did she turn her back on me or Neji. That's just the kind of person she was.

I received the long, blue-black hair from my mother, and inherited the kindness that streamed within my heart from her, also. She was a beautiful woman, inside and out.

My dad was a strong man, who never let his emotions show on his face, but I knew what he was thinking most of the time. He felt that he needed to be strong for the family, and be the one to hold us up even when we fell.

I have the same eyes as my father, and they really are a magnificent gift. I blush every time I look at them in the mirror and realize that I have beautiful gray eyes.

I gasped out, choking on the air that was supposed to enrich and heal my body. My stomach churned and twisted, forming a knot, and I felt as though I was going to vomit. The tears poured out of my eyes, the energy and force behind them far too great for me to even dream of holding them back.

My parents...they were dead. I was never going to see them again.

I would never walk into my home and be greeted by my mother, who managed the house by herself during the day while my father and Neji slaved away for the sake of the family. My mother would never hold me when I get sad anymore, and she'd never be able to whisper comforting words. Never again would she braid my hair in a flawless fishtail, and she would never look at me with that warmth in her gaze. She could never tell me how much she loved me.

My father would never be concerned about me being around the guys on the basketball team, just because they were boys. He would never get the chance to meet Naruto, and he would never have the opportunity to walk me down the aisle one day and hand me off to the man of my dreams. He would never get to experience the day his grandchildren would be born, and he would never get to hold them in his strong arms.

My parents were gone, and they weren't coming back...

The muted police officer at my side pulled into a parking space at the hospital and quickly unbuckled his seatbelt. I followed his course of action and leapt from the car rapidly, dashing to the doors of the emergency room, led by that police officer.

Once inside, I was aware that he knew where he was going, because he stormed right past the front desk and through the hall. I shadowed him to the second elevator on the left side of the hallway. The stench of bleach burned my nostrils, infecting me with a smell that would bring me back to this day, every time it invaded my senses.

The time it took for the elevator doors to open seemed like an eternity of waiting in deafening silence. When they did open, we wasted no time occupying the space presented to us. The officer tapped one of the buttons on the right side of the elevator, and the doors chomped shut, swallowing us into its mouth.

My eyes grew heavy, and they fell down to stare at my canvas, lavender sneakers. Somehow, I had so many more tears within me that a tsunami crashed down my face.

The officer never once said anything to me, and I was grateful for that. I didn't want to hear any consoling words, because none of it would ever mean anything. Words would never bring back my parents, and they would never have the power to save Neji from his unstable fate.

When the doors reopened, spitting us out of the elevator's cave, the officer only ran in a jog over to the lady behind a round desk.

"I found Neji Hyuga's cousin," he told her, and the lady with deep red lips and chocolate hair turned her ocean eyes to face me, sadness and sympathy. She noticed my tear-stained cheeks and my inflamed, puffy eyes. My fingers were still intertwined with one another, each hand squeezing the life out of the other.

"His condition remains unchanged, and he has many operations to go through," the lady behind the desk told the officer, but couldn't help her eyes from flickering in my direction.

"Can she see him?"

The lady looked at me, and I at her, and we stared at one another for a moment before she finally spoke up. "She can, but I don't think it would be the best thing for her, to see him in that state."

Both sets of eyes returned to me, and the voice that was clogged in my throat was forced out of me by the power of every muscle in my body.

"I need to see him," I choked out in a voice barely over a whisper, and the lady sighed, turning her eyes to her desk. It looked as if she had wished I hadn't chosen that answer, and she seemed to be regretting giving me the option.

Disheartened, she stepped out from behind the desk and led me a little bit further into the Critical Care Unit.

A part of me wanted to turn around and run away screaming, for I knew that the moment I lay eyes on my gravely injured cousin, I would never - for as long as I live - get the image to leave my mind. I will be forever haunted by the graphic that I was about to see, and I prepared my stomach for the sight. The only reason I listened to the other part of me is because it begged me to stay, and it told me that Neji needed me. I had to be strong for him, and I had to be there for him.

The lady stopped in front of a room, and before granting me access, asked once more if I was completely sure I wanted to see him.

"He's the only family I have left," I said, strongly but with a small voice. "I have to hold on to him."

The lady squeezed her eyes shut and her eyebrows pulled together in sorrow for the sight I was about to see.

She opened the door for me, and I almost fell to my knees right there. In that room filled with technology that I had no knowledge of, my precious cousin lay in the bed, swaddled in bloody bandages and breathing through an oxygen tank. There were pipes sticking out of both his right arm and his right leg, and the same went for the majority of his ribs. His neck and head were stabilized by more metal rods, only these were not emerging from his skin.

So many wires were attached to Neji, and the IV slithered into his vein on his left arm, which was bruised and battered.

He didn't even look like my cousin anymore. His flesh was so discolored, and he was covered by so many bandages that it was almost hard to see him.

"The right side of his body," the lady from behind the desk began telling me as I was taking in the image of the person they claimed was Neji, "was crushed in the impact. He was lucky that his arm wasn't severed from his body. His right tibia experienced an open fracture, and his right arm had only the damage of a closed fracture. Many of his ribs were broken; luckily, none of them punctured any of his organs.

"The surgeons were able to stop the internal bleeding, which will buy him more time and increase his rate of survival.

"There is bruising on the surface of his brain, which the doctors are unsure if it will heal or not. Most likely, he will have to endure months of rehabilitation, and he may have to learn how to walk again.

_Neji..._

I dragged my feet over to his bedside and stood there for a moment, staring him up and down, trying so hard to believe that this wasn't Neji. I wanted to trust that Neji was okay, and in another room. But as I examined the heavily damaged body, that dream faded away quickly, and I soon recognized him, realizing that this was Neji. They had not mistaken.

"Neji!" I weeped and fell to my knees at his bedside, grasping his left hand and holding onto it with both of mine. My bangs stuck to my face as my tears ended up everywhere, streaming endlessly down my cheeks. I began crying uncontrollably and hysterically, noises coming from deep within my throat. The cries of my anguish twisted my own heart, and, inevitably, the worst scenario ran through my head: the one where Neji does not survive, and ceases to exist.

No. I squeezed Neji's hand tightly and pressed it to my forehead. I would never let him go. Neji was too precious to me. He couldn't die.

_Are you taking him away because I'm greedy?_ The voice in my head asked, and the idea stuck within my brain. I was becoming gluttonous; I wanted more and more out of my relationship with Naruto, and I wanted nothing but good to happen to him. I wanted his dreams to come true, whether I was a part of them or not. I wished for nothing but good to happen to the friends I had made with the guys on the basketball team. I desired with all my heart to have them all lead happy lives, and come into good sentimental fortune.

I've wanted and received too much, and God had to take some important people away from me in order to balance everything out.

This was all my fault.

_You're so stupid, Hinata!_

I turned my eyes up to the ceiling and threw my head back. There had to be some way I could save Neji, and no matter what it was, I would do it. I had to.

"Mom!" I called out to my deceased mother. "Please! Help him! Save Neji!" I begged, screaming out for the aid of the most gentle woman I ever knew. While I howled out with everything I had, it was still almost silent. My naturally soft voice couldn't cry out like others could, but even so, I tried so hard. I needed my mother to hear me. I needed her to save Neji.

_Is nothing enough for you?_ My conscience scolded me against my will. _You just keep wanting more and more._

My eyes burned as I pressed my face back down to the side of Neji's hospital bed, begging as a humble servant.

"I'm sorry, Neji," I apologized with my entire being behind my words. "I'm so sorry."

Minutes ticked by and faded into hours. The sun outside the window gradually began to set, and the darkness of night crashed down upon me. I never left the spot from where I fell, and I never once let go of Neji's hand. I had apologized so many times within the passing hours, but no matter how many times I begged for forgiveness, my parents would never come back, and Neji would not miraculously wake up and walk. That was the reality that I was going to have to face.

My head pounded as I finally became dehydrated, and there were no more tears left in me to cry.

I don't know when the lady with the red lips returned to the desk, and to be honest, I didn't care. Her being in this room didn't help Neji, and neither did her presence at the desk.

My body trembled as I felt another wave of dry tears coming on, and, somehow, salty moisture dribbled from my eyes again. Perhaps I hadn't completely run dry.

My head pounded with a throbbing headache and my entire body was so hot that I was perspiring. My knees hurt and my hands were stiff. But none of that mattered. This wasn't about me anymore. I had to stay for Neji's sake, no matter what kind of excruciation I was forced to endure. I would conquer it all to save him.

"Miss Hyuga," the crimson-lipped lady began gingerly, "it's past nine o'clock. You need to go home."

In complete honesty, I couldn't go home. I no longer had a home, only an empty house filled with overwhelming memories of the home it used to be.

"Neji," I finally released his hand, and I pressed my lips to it, "please, make it through the night."

_Please,_ I begged, _don't take Neji away from me._

I stepped out of the room that I had been kneeling in for the past eight hours and trudged with my head down back in the direction from which the police officer had led me. Through the empty halls, I crawled to the elevator, going back down to the first floor, and stopping when I reached the lobby.

I stared out into the night, and snow fell on the streets. I didn't have my jacket with me; I had been in such a rush to get to the hospital that I didn't take anything with me from school. I realized that my textbooks and my purse still lay in Mr. Sarutobi's class.

All of this, though, seemed trivial. I was alive, and I was healthy. My parents were dead, and my cousin was borderlining the same fate.

Like I could be concerned about not having a jacket right now.

I stepped out of the hospital's sliding doors and was met by the familiar face of the police officer who had escorted me here. He was no longer in uniform, and did not have his patrol car with him.

"You don't have anyone to drive you home, do you?" he asked me, and I couldn't force myself to answer his question. I simply stood there, staring at him with red eyes. He couldn't see that, of course, not in the darkness. "I'll drive you home."

There was that word again. Home.

OoO

The moment I stepped into my darkened house, I dragged myself up the stairs and into my room, where I collapsed on my bed, drowning in my sadness. I could focus on nothing else, because nothing else seemed important. My aching body, my breaking heart. The pieces of myself that were scattered about were all I could focus on.

Everything else was just a blur.


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter Nine_

Time just seemed to stop. I don't know how many days it has been since I left my house, or even got up from the safety and solitude of my bed. That first day after, I was afraid to go back to the hospital, because I was terrified that I had lost Neji. My only saving grace was the fact that there have been no calls from the hospital. But I couldn't go back there. I couldn't relive the nightmare of seeing Neji with all of those wires and metal posts sticking out of him. I couldn't bear it.

_You're so weak_.

The phone has been ringing every hour for the past few days, and I recognize most of the voices that the answering machine recorded. Naruto has been calling constantly, every hour on the hour, and he finally filled up the memory on my answering machine.

I was rattled with so much guilt over the deaths of my parents and the physical instability of my cousin's current state that I couldn't bring myself to talk to him. I didn't want to talk to anybody.

Lee called, not quite as frequently, but he sounded concerned when he would leave messages. The same went for the rest of the guys on the basketball team.

Sakura, too would call frequently, leaving messages telling me to call her back, or at least do something so she knew that I was alright.

So I did nothing, because I was not alright. Physically, I was in constant agony, and the ripping sensation of my heart and flesh would not cease. Mentally, I was a guilty wreck. Emotionally, I was about as unstable as Neji's body.

I cried most of the time, and I slept in the darkness of my room. All of the curtains in my house were pulled shut, because I didn't want anybody intruding on my sadness. I didn't want company. I didn't want people to come here and tell me that it was going to be alright. I didn't want to hear those disgusting lies. It was not okay; my parents were just killed in a terrible accident.

_And it's all your fault._

All I wanted was to be left alone to wallow in my pain. I had to pay for what I had done, and still, I was not suffering enough. Greed was a terrible sin.

I lay, enwrapped in the thick blanket that covered my bed, completely swaddled in its warmth, and I slammed my face into my pillow, screaming.

I couldn't take it, the physical skewering of my heart, the stabbing of needles into my flesh and nerves. My body felt as though it would break apart any minute now, and I, too, would be dead. It was incredible, the amount of anxiety the human body could take before it withered away.

I don't know how many days passed by like this, but the pain never ceased, and my guilt was never released from my conscience.

Some days, I could hear people banging on my back door, and I could hear them talking. Sometimes, there was more than one person, and other times, there was one in their own solitude. A lot of the time, I could hear Naruto's voice from the outside of my house, and due to my room being directly above that door, his voice was crystal clear.

"_Hinata!" _he would call my name, and I couldn't find the strength to answer. Rather, I curled my knees to my chest and cried again. _"I know you're in there."_ That's when the banging would stop, and his voice would get quiet, but I could still hear him. _"Please..."_ He usually stopped talking then, but sometimes he would stay out there for hours.

It was typically the same routine over and over.

Other days, I would hear Sakura beating on my door, and Sasuke talking to her.

"_Hinata,"_ Sakura would beg in the same manner as Naruto; sometimes forcefully, and other times in a consoling voice. _"I need to know that you're okay."_

"_Sakura,"_ Sasuke would then talk to her, taking my side, and comprehending the distress that was cast upon my body. _"Maybe we need to give her some space. She needs time to heal, and with us constantly bugging her, that action may be delayed."_

_Thank you, Sasuke._

More hours passed, and those hours of agony seemed to weave together to form days, and by this time, I had no idea what day it was. For all I knew, Thanksgiving could have already come and passed.

I gasped as I struggled to breathe. My fingers curled into vicious fists and I slammed them against my bed, wailing in agony. I couldn't keep up such physical activity; I had barely been out of bed since returning to my house from the hospital that night. I could feel my muscles growing weak from lack of use, and for a few moments, I began to wonder if the ripping sensation I felt across my body as a whole was actually tearing apart my muscles.

I only had a few fits of rage and guilt, otherwise, I was a vegetable, sleeping my life away. When I wasn't sleeping, I was bawling my eyes out, and when I wasn't crying, my body knocked me into unconsciousness.

The phone continued to ring multiple times a day, blasting the noise throughout the house and into my sensitive ears. But it could only ring now; I could no longer hear the voices that used to be recorded.

Pain and darkness consumed me, and I drowned in my sorrow. I couldn't stop imagining the brutality of the accident, and my mind went wild thinking about it. Even when I slept, the nightmares continued to haunt me. Each dream was different, and I never really realized how many ways there was to die in a vehicular accident.

When I wasn't obsessing over the details of how my parents were taken from me, my brain would remind me of Neji, who lay unconscious and in a coma in a strange place that reeked of bleach. All of those metal rods that jutted out of his body made me want to vomit, and sometimes, I did, even though there was nothing but acid in my stomach to throw up.

I felt nauseous a lot, and most of the time, I ended up curled over the only toilet in my house, dry heaving violently. The knot that settled in my stomach that first day when the news had been broken to me and the police officer had driven me to the hospital, was still there, tightening its grasp on my insides. It twisted, as if it were trying to compress my organs completely.

I choked up a whole lot of nothing, typically spitting air and saliva into the toilet, and then I collapsed in my bathroom. My entire body clenched and contracted, forcing me into a fetal position on the floor. Gasping in excruciating pain, I constricted my arms around my stomach and squeezed my eyes shut so tightly that I thought my eyelids would tear in half.

Sometime, I found enough strength to pull myself off of the bathroom floor and practically crawl back to my room, where I sheathed myself back in the comforter on my bed. I flopped on the mattress and smothered my face into my pillow and I let unconsciousness take over once again.

Later on, I wasn't sure if it was a few hours or a few days, but later, I was woken up by pounding on my door. My body coiled on my bed, and I opened my eyes slightly to see my dark violet wall before me. I knew, that just beyond that wall and about fifteen feet down, someone was trying to get my attention.

"Hinata!" It was Naruto's voice again.

_Please,_ my mind begged, _go away._

I perceived two other voices, and quickly made them out to be his parents. The two of them had accompanied Naruto this time. However, no matter how many people he brought with him, I wasn't getting up. I couldn't.

"Please, Hinata! You have to come out!" Naruto plead. "I need to see you."

"What if she's not even in there?" I heard Kushina ponder out loud, and I could vividly imagine her touching her index finger to her bottom lip.

"Where else would she be?" Minato chimed in, siding with his son.

"That's it." I heard Naruto say, and I wasn't entirely sure what he was going to do. I figured that maybe he finally gave up in his attempt to get me to come outside, and a part of me was so sad to have abandoned him. The other part was almost content to think of him as moving on.

Instead, I heard a tiny click come from downstairs, and the back door opened. I listened as heavy footsteps came into my house and moved through it quickly. The person downstairs didn't seem to know where everything was, but they seemed to find the stairs quickly. On the hardwood floor, the sound of sneakers trotted up to the acme and continued to move without taking the time to look around.

My house wasn't big, so the invader found me quite easily.

"Hinata..." I listened as Naruto whispered from inside my black room, and I couldn't help but cry again. I knew that he could hear me sniffling and trying to catch my breath, and his footsteps proceeded onward, coming closer and closer to my bed.

As if a hand reached out from inside my wall, my heart was once again being torn from my chest, being lacerated from the rest of my body.

What I did not expect was gentle hands to come along and press it back into me tenderly. Naruto laid down on my bed, balancing on his side, and he constricted his arms around me. I could feel his body twist in the same shape as mine - in a half-fetal position. Holding me close, Naruto contracted his muscles, and there was no space in between our bodies.

I continued to weep, and I was shocked when I heard him sniff.

_Naruto..._

His forehead pressed against the back of my head, and we lay in united pieces, huddled in the company of one another.

_Why are you crying?_ I wanted to ask, but I couldn't bring myself to speak. I was dumbfounded that Naruto was so determined to find me, that he would pick the lock on my back door and search my house.

We cried for so long, and I wasn't even sure I had enough strength left in me to cry anymore. Naruto never left my side, and his grip on my body never faltered.

"I'm so sorry, Hinata." His figure compressed, causing mine to to the same. The tears that pooled out of his sapphire eyes stained the back of my neck and dampened my hair. He gasped in a trembling deep breath, so desperate to pull himself together. "I'm so sorry."

It was then that I fell, once again, into slumber. This time, my dreams were not possessed by the deaths of my parents, or the gruesome reality of Neji's coma and physical condition. Rather, I did not experience any dreams. I simply slept.

OoO

Naruto was still cuddled around me when I woke up, and he snored soundly. My senses were invigorated by both the aroma of his cologne and the wafting scent of food coming from the kitchen downstairs.

It was only then that I realized my curtains were yanked open, and sunlight glittered through my room majestically. The light blinded me, and I shielded my eyes with my hand. Nobody was in the room besides myself and Naruto, but there were definitely people downstairs in the kitchen.

I had no idea what day it was, and knew that there was only one way to find out. Sitting up stiffly, Naruto's arms fell off of me, and I stretched my arms high above my head.

No longer were the needles pricking my skin constantly, and they were not ripping through my nerves as if they weren't even there. Of course, there was still a terrible ache in my chest, but that was natural; my poor heart was just the victim of tug-of-war.

A small moan came from Naruto's throat, and I glanced down at the man who had dove into the darkness to find me. He was brave; he rescued me from drowning.

I rested the palm of my hand on Naruto's soft cheek, and I leaned down to press my forehead lightly to his left temple.

"Thank you," I whispered, and gradually made my way out of bed. I expected the floor to be cold against my feet, and when it wasn't, I turned my eyes downward. I was still wearing my lavender sneakers. It was only then that I realized that I had not changed clothes since that dreadful night. I was still dressed in the same grass green shirt with the poofy sleeves, and the same black jeans that I had been wearing the day I found out about the accident.

I glanced in the mirror, and I was a mess. My cheeks were raw, and my eyes were swollen and bloodshot. My hair was matted to my scalp, face, and neck, and was both greasy and damp with tears. My nose was running, as a result of becoming stuffy all those times that I cried.

I picked a tissue up off of my desk and blew my nose into it, my head spinning and bright flashing stars peppering my vision. The world around me began spinning, and I had to grab onto my desk in order to keep from falling flat on my backside.

The sense of vertigo quickly vanished as suddenly as it came.

With my nose now clear, I could distinctly pick out the smell of pancakes coming from the kitchen downstairs. Using my nostrils as guides, my feet began moving in the direction of the door, and I turned right, pacing weakly down the hallway. When I came to the acme of the stairs, I gripped the railing for dear life with both hands and began descending.

The scent only got greater with every step I took.

When I reached the base of the steps and turned right into the kitchen, I saw the spitting image of the man who lay sleeping in my bed. Minato was hovering over my kitchen table, arranging flowers in a vase in the center of the table. The flowers looked to me like white lilies and pink gladioli, but I couldn't say for sure.

Kushina stood in front of the stove, flipping pancakes and placing the finished products on a pile. I believe she noticed me out of her peripheral vision, because she turned in my direction and smiled warmly at me.

"Good morning, dear," she said to me with such maternal love - the love that I now lack. Minato turned immediately and mimed his wife's course of action by beaming brightly at me. I blinked once, still becoming used to the light pouring into my retinals.

"What day is it?" I asked softly, and Minato checked his watch.

"Sunday," he responded to me, and I nodded. So I had been in my house, alone, for three entire days. It seemed as though it had been much, much longer than that. I was thinking that Minato would have told me that we passed Thanksgiving and made it into December.

I glanced over on the floor and noticed the textbooks and my purse that I had left at school last Wednesday. Naruto must have retrieved them and brought them here.

Kushina handed me a plate, stacked with four chocolate chip pancakes.

"Eat up, sweetie," she said and continued to wear a giant grin. I knew that she was forcing the smile, just to keep me from crying, and I appreciated that.

"You should probably know something," Minato began as I sat down. He handed me the syrup that they had brought from their house; I know that we definitely didn't have syrup lying around in my cabinets. "Your cousin, Neji -"

I gulped, and suddenly felt sick.

"-has woken from his coma, and his condition has stabilized. He sleeps most of the time, and is typically incoherent when he is conscious, but he is going to recover."

It was too much. I slid my chair backwards and dropped to my knees, pressing my face onto the cold wood of the floor. More tears cascaded from my eyes and puddled on the floor.

_Mom, Dad,_ I spoke to them inaudible, _thank you._

I knew it was them; my parents were the ones who saved Neji. They answered my plea and guarded him from death.

Kushina squatted down and placed one hand on my shoulder, the other over my chest, and she forced my face to leave the floor. The compassion in her touch radiated throughout my entire entity, and it gave me the strength to push myself back to my feet, and find my place back on the kitchen chair.

However, as I thought of my parents, I had only one concern. I placed my hands in my lap and stared down at the table. My ankles crossed under my chair and I took in a deep breath, just as I heard Naruto bounding down the stairs.

He moved into the kitchen and stopped, watching me and I knew he was wondering how emotionally stable I was.

"Minato, Kushina," I said weakly, keeping my eyes glued to a spot on the edge of the table. Naruto's parents both turned their full and undivided attention to me as I sighed, preparing myself to say the words. I was still wondering if I even wanted to know the answer to my question, because once I knew, then I would have to let go of the dream that my parents would miraculously dance through the doors and take me within their embrace. I could feel three sets of eyes burning holes into separate parts of my body, but the holes were warm and filled with love.

When I didn't answer, Kushina touched my shoulder and leaned over, pressing her forehead to mine. The gesture was comforting, and I came to the realization that I was not going to be alone. I was not going to be forced to live without parents. Kushina and Minato, they were already taking the role of parents, and pouring all of their love into me.

And Naruto. He would never let me be alone to drown by myself again. I could feel it.

The three of them were the only reason I built both the strength and the voice to push out my terrifying question.

"When is the funeral?"


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter Ten_

The funeral was that Tuesday, and it may have been the most difficult day of my life. Early in the morning, Sakura and Sasuke came over to my tiny house, dressed in their black formalwear. Once they had come over, Naruto and his parents left my house to go get changed. I could tell by the twist in his face that Naruto wanted anything but to leave my side. I was still emotionally unstable, and he knew that, but Sakura promised him that she and Sasuke would look after me.

When Naruto left, Sakura took me upstairs and picked out a plain black dress for me to wear. Luckily, she chose one with sleeves, because the wind was blowing terribly outside. I dressed, feeling a chill run down my spine. I didn't want to face this day. I wanted to return to my bed and keep myself locked in a dark house with nobody here.

But I couldn't do that, especially not with people around me who care about my well-being. Sakura wouldn't allow me to miss my parents' funeral; she said that if I didn't go, I'd regret that decision for the rest of my life.

I lifted the pile of hair on my back up, so that Sakura could zip the back of my dress. I could hear a sigh come from her as she did so, and I knew that she was taking in the severity of the day. This was the last time I would ever see my parents, and I may not have the opportunity to even see them. Minato told me that, depending on the condition of the bodies, they may have to have closed caskets.

I turned my gray eyes to the full-length mirror hanging on my wall and examined my body, smothered in the thin, dark dress. It barely reached my knees, and my calves were extremely white in comparison.

"You're beautiful, Hinata," Sakura murmured to me and took my hair in her hands, pulling it away from my shoulders. My eyes closed as I felt the urge to cry again; I've been doing so much of that lately. "I bet your parents are so proud of you."

The muscles in my face ached as I tried so hard not to start bawling again. They trembled, and my eyebrows contracted towards one another. Despite how hard I tried, tears broke through the dam I created, and they flooded down my cheeks. So much air that had been stored in my lungs came out in deep breaths.

Sakura moved in front of me and constricted her arms around my shoulders, holding me tightly as I broke again. My body wasn't in control whenever I returned the gesture; My arms slithered around her torso and my hands gripped the fabric on her back.

I had never dreamed I would have a friend who would hold me when I was sad. I never really knew how comforting it could be. Before, it was my mother who alleviated me of my sadness by sitting with me and holding me.

_Thank you._

OoO

Naruto and Sakura stayed by my side the entire funeral service, because I had nobody else to see. I had no family; my grandparents were all deceased, and my aunt and uncle were Neji's parents, who died a few years before. The only family I had now was Neji, who was still in the hospital.

I knew that the accident had been bad, and I almost breathed a sigh of relief when I walked into the funeral home and saw both of the caskets, side-by-side, lids closed. A part of me wanted to see them, because I needed closure. The other part of me remembered what Neji's body looked like, and he was the only survivor.

Maybe it was a good thing, that the caskets were closed. I wasn't entirely sure that I would want to remember my parents as cold, white and dead. Whenever I would think about them, I wanted to think of them as warm, alive and nurturing. I didn't want any of my memories of them to falter. I'm certain that seeing their corpses might have erased every jovial memory I had of my parents.

Lee ended up coming back from college for the service, and the moment he saw me, his face contorted into a pitiful grimace, and he embraced me tightly. He smelled nice, and I had forgotten how nice he actually was, and how he made me feel like such an important person. His hair grew longer, but it was still cupping his face like a giant bowl. It was so great to see him, despite the occasion.

"Hinata, how are you doing?" he asked, and I took notice to how he still refrained from using contractions.

I nodded, and I spoke up, my voice softer than usual. "I'm doing okay," I lied. I really wasn't doing okay. I was in pain, and some unknown force was still trying to pry my heart from my chest. I wasn't sure if my eyes were still puffy from random breakdowns, but I think I was safe to say that they were.

"That is good to hear," he said, and I could tell by observing his face that he knew I was putting on a brave mask for the sake of my friends. "How is Neji holding up?" That was the first time I had heard Lee breathe Neji's name, and I was still waiting to hear the vice versa.

All I could think of was the sight that I saw on Wednesday last week, of Neji lying half-dead in the hospital bed with all of those cords and pipes.

But I trusted what Minato had told me on Sunday.

"He's in bad condition, but he's going to survive."

_Please, let Minato be right._

Lee nodded once and turned his eyes away for a moment, his vision glued to the wall on my right. "I am glad that he is okay."

"I'm going to see him after the funeral." That word stung my tongue, and I winced inconspicuously. "Do you want to come?"

Lee slid his hands into the pockets of his dress pants and returned his gaze to me. I could tell that he was a bit nervous, and that he did want to see his former best friend. However, I knew better than anybody what it felt like to be a burden on the people around me, so I recognized the twist in his face. He did not want to show up in Neji's hospital room uninvited, and worry about getting Neji all worked up. With his condition, an increased heart rate would probably not be for the best.

"Send him my best wishes, and my condolences," Lee finally said, and I understood completely and forced a grateful smile.

"I will."

Lee stood behind me when the pallbearers lifted the caskets that contained my parents, and Naruto immediately inched closer to my right side, knowing that I was going to be mourning. As a comforting gesture, he slipped his fingers in between mine and squeezed my hand so tightly, and I returned the action. I think I may have hurt his hand when I contracted the muscles in my fingers, baring down on Naruto's hand. But he didn't say anything; he allowed me to clutch as hard as I needed to.

I grinded my teeth as the pallbearers began marching in my direction, and then turning to strut past me, carrying the source of my strength out of the room with them. I couldn't help it; I lost it as they removed my parents from the room, and I followed them, almost wanting to chase after them and beg them not to take my family away from me.

Naruto led me to his father's midnight blue car, where we slid into the back seats and waited for the procession to begin. Minato and Kushina took the front seats, of course, sitting down and shutting their doors, cutting off the bitter wind.

Neither of them turned to look back at me, and I appreciated the fact that they didn't. In the funeral home, my skin burned every time somebody's eyes bore down upon me for more than an instant. I knew that I was the topic of interest in there, and I heard my name being whispered over and over again. But what the world didn't seem to understand is that I didn't want their pity. I didn't want them to feel sorry for me.

The only person that was allowed to feel sorry for me was me.

A bunch of peers that I recognized from school were in there, and I wondered why they had come. I mean, it was a thoughtful gesture, but I didn't know most of them, and I doubt any of them knew of my existence.

I glanced out the window and realized that this procession to the cemetery was very small; the majority of the people who had shown up for this event were mostly those people from school. I didn't mind that it was small, and I don't think my parents would have wanted a bunch of unnecessary people attending.

I felt my hand compress, and I glanced down, still seeing my fingers interlocked with Naruto's. Our hands rested on both of our thighs, which were touching.

For a moment, I blushed, but then I began to cry; not because I was sad, but because I was overwhelmed with happiness that my parents did not leave me all alone. They left me in the care of the person that I'm head over heels for, and with his kind and nurturing parents. They left me with Neji, who would live and come home eventually.

I wasn't alone.

I pressed my forehead to Naruto's and I weeped for both my joy and my sorrow. We both closed our eyes and sat, thigh to thigh, hand in hand, forehead to forehead. I could hear my own sobs as I tried so desperately to control myself.

"Naruto," I forced the voice out of my throat, and his head retreated just enough to where he could look me in the eyes. I let my eyelids slide open, and I stared into an ocean of blue, drowning again. Here he was, right in front of me, just like I always dreamed he would be. "Thank you."

Naruto let my hand go, and he cradled my face with both of his strong hands, wiping away my tears with the pads of his thumbs.

"For what?" he asked me, his voice low, almost a murmur. Desperately searching for an answer, he scanned my tear-streaked face, and his features softened, melting, almost. I overlapped his hands with mine, squeezing them gingerly.

"For being my friend."

Naruto stared at me for a moment, and I was afraid that I had said something weird. My eyes clearly painted out my terror, because he felt the need to reinforce that he was not going anywhere. Naruto wrapped both arms around my figure, one hand cradling the back of my head, the other gripping my back.

At that, both of us let out all of our emotions in a wave of tears.

OoO

I stepped into Neji's room with Naruto stalking close behind, never once leaving the area of my shadow. My cousin's eyes were open, and he stared at the ceiling, tracing the outlines with his pupils. While his body was still a wreck, and the cords and pipes have not decreased in number since I was here on Wednesday, he did seem better. Maybe it was due to the fact that he was conscious, and didn't look completely dead.

"Neji?" I spoke softly to him, and his pupils revolved around to face the sound of the noise. I could tell, just by the look on his face, that he was in so much physical pain, and I wished that there was something I could do to help relieve him of that burden.

I pulled a chair up to Neji's bedside, exactly the spot where I had fallen almost a week ago. Naruto mimicked my actions, and drug a chair across the floor of Neji's room, moving closer to his bed.

Neji's eyed Naruto cautiously, and I wasn't sure why.

"How are you feeling?" I gripped his hand, and he squeezed mine in reply. He returned his gaze to the ceiling, letting his vision wander. I began growing nervous. What if he couldn't hear me, or what if he didn't know who I was? Fear struck me, and it hit hard. For a moment, the wind was knocked out of my stomach, and it became difficult to breathe.

I remembered that the lady with the red lips at the Critical Care desk had said that Neji had some bruising on the surface of his brain, and that the doctors weren't entirely sure if it would heal or not. She never did tell me, however, what part of his brain that the bruising occurred. What if he could no longer see the things around him?

"Why was I chosen to live?" Neji spoke, finally, and I gaped at him in perplex. I wasn't following what he meant. "Aunt and Uncle...they should have been allowed to return to you."

I turned my eyes to our hands, and I noticed how many veins were visible in his wrist now, and wondered if it was temporary.

"Lee," I began telling him, trying in despair to change the subject. "He sends his condolences, and he wishes that you make a full recovery."

Neji's eyes returned to me, and his eyebrows smooshed together.

"Lee?" As if they were on a single-lined track, his eyes moved back to study the contours of the ceiling. "I haven't talked to him for a while."

"I know," I said, and exhaled slowly, clearing my head. "He and I are close friends. We write letters, since I don't have a phone."

After I quit talking, the room was silent for an awfully long time, and the three of us sat there in taciturnity. Neji and I never let our grip on each other's hand falter; it was as if we held on to each other for dear life. We couldn't bear to let the other slip away when we were so close.

Neji's breathing wasn't entirely steady. Sometimes he would miss a breath, and then suck in a deep one. I sensed that he was having difficulty with something so basic. After all, he had metal rods jutting out from his thorax, stabilizing his ribcage.

That terrified me. What if something bumped into one of those rods; would it be enough to cause a compound fracture in his ribs? My stomach churned at the thought.

"Naruto," Neji spoke up, his voice cracking, and the blonde boy beside me turned his eyes towards my cousin. Neji took in - what looked to be - an excruciatingly painful breath of bleachy air. "Thank you. For taking care of Hinata, I mean." His words shocked me. Neji never thanked anybody, besides my late parents. He rarely spoke to anybody, even, besides me.

I think he stopped speaking to people after his parents died the summer going into high school. That must have been why he cut his ties with Lee. I didn't realize it until now, but I was convinced that that was the reason. Neji became cold to the outside world once the shock of his parents' death subsided, and he only spoke to my parents and me.

"You don't have to thank me," Naruto said to Neji, causing him to run his eyes along the imaginary cord in order to face my lifelong crush. "She needed my help, and I came running. I always will." I was silent, and his words caused my heart to skip a beat. Neji just stared at him with soft eyes - something I hadn't seen out of him in the longest time. "And I'll do the same for you, because you're important to her."

Neji, if he could have, I knew, he would have nodded at this time, giving me a sign of approval to chase after my dear Naruto and give him my heart.

_Oh, Naruto._

"Hinata, there's something you should know," Neji began, and both Naruto and I turned our full, undivided attention away from any distractions. "Don't ever drop out of school," he said, and I cocked my head, my blue-black hair falling to the side. I wasn't planning on dropping school; I was so close to finishing.

I turned around to glance at Naruto, who gave me the same confused gape.

"Because our family was poor and scraping the bottom of the barrel for money, Uncle decided to take out a life insurance plan. He didn't want something to happen to him, and to leave you on the streets with nothing.

"Finish school, and finish strong, because the insurance is going to be paying your way to college."

College? I knew that I wasn't going to be able to further my education past high school, because my family just couldn't afford the expenses, even if I attended community college. So, in my world, higher education only existed in fairy tales.

"Your parents loved you so much, Hinata," Neji said, and my eyes cast a soft gaze upon him. "Don't ever let yourself regret a single thing. If you want something, you've got to take it before somebody else snatches it right out from under your nose.

_Naruto..._

"I know you've had your issues with confidence, and you've come such a long way in only a year. I'm so proud of you, Hinata. You're finally allowing yourself to bloom like the beautiful flower you are.

"Just, never forget who you are. Never forget what your heart desires. And never lose sight of your goals."

I closed my eyes, letting Neji's inspirational words sink into every cell of my body.

_Thank you, Neji._ I nodded internally. _I won't._

OoO

Naruto and I stepped out into the bitter night, silent with one another. Neither of us had really said anything since Neji had given me that motivational speech; I think I was safe in saying that both of us had been moved.

_Never forget what your heart desires._

What my heart desires most is walking home with me in the darkness of night. He had both of his hands in his pockets, and his eyes flickered from the ground to the vast sea of stars watching over us. Our breaths created foggy mists that shrouded our mouths.

I wasn't entirely sure how far we walked before Naruto stopped dead in his tracks, turning his eyes back to the pavement below our feet. I halted, too, twisting around to look at him. My legs were freezing, because of the dress that I was still wearing from the funeral, and they began to tremble.

"Naruto?" I asked, turning my entire body to face him. "Are you okay?"

Naruto had a serious look in his face as he filled the space in between us, and he stared down into my eyes, causing me to blush.

"Neji said that if you want something, you've got to take it before someone else takes it first, right?" he asked, and I wasn't entirely sure where he was getting at, but I nodded my head.

"Yes, he did."

"Do you believe that people should be so greedy?"

The word 'greed' reminded me of myself, and why my parents were gone in the first place. I had become too greedy, wanting too much.

However, in the context that Neji had put it, I knew he was telling me never to let Naruto slip through my fingers, because he was a precious gift that I had received. I never wanted to give him up, and so I knew how to answer his question.

"Yes."

"Good," Naruto said, and then clasped both of his hands onto my cheeks and yanked me towards him, pressing his lips to mine both tenderly and forcefully.

He had caught me off guard, and when I realized exactly what was happening, a little part of me died as I stood there, smothered in his embrace.


	11. Chapter 11

_Chapter Eleven_

The heat on my lips was filled with passion, and I couldn't help my arms from constricting around Naruto's body. I grasped the back of his shoulders, holding him tight as we finally embraced.

I had never experienced anything of this sort before, so I was almost at a loss. Naruto pried my lips open and bit my bottom lip, and I gasped.

He retreated, his eyes fluttering open to see me, standing before him, face cherry red. I breathed hard, my body trying to decide which was more important - oxygen or Naruto. I blinked a few times, wondering if this was a dream, but I could feel the cold eating away at my flesh as we stood there, gaping at one another.

I wondered what had brought that impulsive act on. He had never hinted to desiring me in the way that I wanted him, so I was momentarily confused. I began sorting through the information in my head, attempting to find the reason behind his heated kiss.

"I did what Neji said," Naruto spoke up, grasping my hands in his, and an electrical charge sparked between us. "I knew what I wanted, and if I waited any longer to take her, somebody else would win her over."

I continued to gape at him, and couldn't seem to convince myself that this was reality. My cheeks were flushed and my head was spinning, and I feel as though I had the potential to lose consciousness.

"Naruto, you..." I said lightly, but he didn't let me finish my thought.

"I really like you, Hinata," Naruto confessed, and my eyes grew wide. My Naruto - the boy who I have secretly admired since junior high - was confessing _his_ attraction to _me_. "In complete honesty, I never thought that I would end up falling for you. Of course, I've seen you around since middle school, and you always looked so busy. I couldn't help but wonder why you tried so hard at school, and completely neglected a social life.

"After meeting you and coming really close to you, I figured out why; you had to work hard, because you needed to find a good job to help out your family.

"But also, I realized that you weren't just some quiet girl that focused all of her time on schoolwork; you were a girl who had problems with confidence. I figured that out that very first time we talked in the storage closet."

"The reason why," I began, turning my eyes to our entwined hands, "the reason why I was so nervous around you is because I fell for you in middle school." There, I finally admitted it. "I fell for you hard, Naruto."

I noticed a single snowflake fall in between us and land on Naruto's hand. I watched as it melted, and noticed that he followed my gaze. In unison, our attention was drawn to the night sky, where individual and unique snowflakes fluttered down upon our freezing figures.

Ever since I was a little girl, I enjoyed watching the snow fall. I felt it to be peaceful, and somewhat romantic. Whenever the tiny flakes of frozen water oscillated from the sky, I would always sit by the window and watch them dance, and I would dream about a day where I would fall in love with a man.

I never thought that my dream would turn out so ironically true. Because here I was, standing in the cold, watching the snow drift down from the heavens, and in the presence of the man that I hold dear to my heart.

I could have cried, but I didn't. Instead, I let my eyes fall upon Naruto's face, which illuminated in the darkness. He was my light, and he was the one would could save me from anything.

"Let's get going," Naruto said, dragging me onwards in the direction of my house. "It's getting a little too cold."

OoO

Naruto and I sat together on my bed, and I realized that he was as nervous as I was. Neither of us had any clue how this relationship would turn out, and we didn't want this to tear apart our friendship.

Although, I was relieved that the two of us sat down together and discussed what we were looking for, and we set our limitations for the start of a new and beautiful relationship.

While I really and truly wanted to know what the physical relationship between Sasuke and Sakura felt like, I was willing to hold back and just take everything slowly. I wanted Naruto, and I would hold myself back from everything, if it would end up driving him away.

"Hinata," Naruto held both of my hands in his and faced me, throwing all of his attention onto me as if I were the star of a famous play. "I don't care how far our relationship takes us. What I need you to know is that if I ever do anything that makes you uncomfortable, you need to let me know."

With that, I fell in love with Naruto Uzumaki all over again.

"I will never force anything on you, and that's a promise."

Even if he tried, I don't think Naruto would be forcing anything on me. However, I don't think I could be sure until the moment that it was happening. And there I was, thinking about the physical relationships again. So I just had to ask about them.

"The relationship that Sasuke and Sakura have," I began, and I realized that that may not have been the best way to open up, but I continued. "What does it feel like?"

"You mean the sex?" Naruto's mouth shifted to the left as he thought. The way he worded it caused me to become quickly embarrassed, and I blushed and turned away. "I don't know. Never been in real relationship before." He stopped and turned his eyes to me. "In their case, they started with that right away. The two of them started doing the deed after homecoming sophomore year."

The blood under my skin boiled and I bit my lip.

_He's going to think I'm such a weirdo._

"I'm actually surprised that their relationship has lasted this long. It seems like all they do is get naked."

Hearing Naruto talk like this really made me grow hot with nerves. He probably knew so much about sex because of Sasuke. And here I was, knowing only what I've learned in health class and romance movies. I was completely oblivious to these sorts of things, and I hadn't really noticed that fact until now.

"Are you okay?" he asked me, touching a cool hand to my burning face. "Your whole face is red."

I nodded, quickly turning my eyes away in order to calm my nerves. "Yes, I'm fine." I was just completely terrified about talking about Sakura and Sasuke's sex life. I didn't know how much Sasuke had told Naruto, and I wasn't entirely certain that I wanted to know. For the life of me, I couldn't get the image of my two friends crawling passionately over one another; that sure didn't help the discoloration of my face.

"You look tired," Naruto commented, and it was only then that I apprehended the truth in that statement. I was deathly tired. The funeral sucked out so much of my energy, as if it had been a leech. My eyelids grew heavy, and I nodded in response to Naruto's observation.

Luckily, I was already dressed in clothes appropriate for sleep, rather than crashing in the dress that I had worn to see my parents for the last time. My pajama pants had little hedgehogs on them, and the T-shirt that covered my bare chest was a long-sleeved Konoha shirt. My socks clung to my feet, keeping them warm.

Naruto had brought sweatpants and a sweatshirt over this morning when he returned from changing into his formalwear, and I knew he was planning on staying the night. I didn't mind. I enjoyed having the company, and I was well aware that I would need it tonight.

If Naruto wasn't here, I think I may have suffered greatly, just as I had those three days in between finding out about the accident and being saved by Naruto. I would have been alone, trapped and consumed by the anger and the guilt that I could still feel swirling throughout my body. It was still there, I was well aware, but it was diluted by Naruto's affection. For that, I was grateful.

I yawned, and my eyes watered a bit as a result. Lying down on my pillow, I tried so hard to tell myself that I wasn't tired. I didn't want to go to sleep, for fear that I would wake up and find that this was only just a dream. I didn't want to wake up in the darkness and wrythe at the pain of my entire body. I didn't want those needles to penetrate my flesh and rip out my nerves. I thought that if I had to endure my heart being ripped from my chest one more time, I might just collapse and give up.

More than anything, I didn't want to be alone.

I think that Naruto sensed my fear, because he laid down beside me, resting his hand on the curve of my waist, and he snuggled close. Shivering, he reached down and grasped my comforter in a single hand, heaving it upwards and covering both of us.

"It's okay to fall asleep," he whispered in my ear and turned off the lamp on the table beside my bed. He moved closer to me, and I could feel every inch of his body pressed against my back. Both arms constricted around me, holding me together. "I'll still be here when you wake up." He breathed out a sigh as he settled into bed. "I promise."

I was going to hold him to that promise.

Gradually, I let myself slip into the peacefulness of unconsciousness.

OoO

When I awoke all too quickly, the sun's rays were muffled my my curtains, which were still yanked shut. I instantaneously noticed that Naruto was no longer clinging to my body, as he had been whenever I fell asleep the night before. Concerned that he may have broken his promise, I rolled over swiftly, sitting up. I glanced to my right, and I saw him cuddled against himself, shivering in his sleep.

Guilt radiated through my body whenever I grasped the concept that I had been a blanket hog last night. In complete honesty, I had become accustomed to being swaddled by that blanket, because of those three terrible days that I did nothing but sleep and cry.

I peeled the lavender comforter off of my skin and gently threw it over Naruto's trembling body, tucking him into it. I put that on my list of things to invest in; a second blanket. Actually, come to think of it, I believe there was a stack of blankets in Neji's room.

Curiosity coursing through my veins, I threw my legs over the side of my bed and touched my feet to the smooth floor, which emitted chills through my socks. I was used to my room being cold. This house was cheap, and it didn't have a lot of insulation. I used to have a bunch of blankets on my bed to make up for that, but Mom had taken them and put them in the wash. I never got them back.

Mom...I became conscious of the fact that the little things she did would no longer be done. My laundry wouldn't magically be done for me and clean in my closet. My room wouldn't miraculously be swept and dusted. Food wouldn't suddenly appear in front of me. I was going to have to do everything on my own, and I was going to have to take care of Neji, once he was free to leave the hospital. However, I feared, that would be a long time from now.

I opened the door to Neji's room and entered. Just as I had thought, there was a thick stack of heavy blankets piled on the floor by his bed. But none of them were the ones that used to be in my room.

My eyebrows pulled together as I thought about where they could be. Even if I couldn't find them, I knew that I still had access to extra blankets. Still, I went searching throughout my house for them.

My first guess was that they were still in the dryer, because Mom would have put them back on my bed if she had folded them. I trotted down the stairs leading to the first level of my house, and then I turned right into the kitchen. In the corner of the far left wall, there was a door that led to the basement, where the laundry machine was. I moved in that direction, twisting the knob and opening the door so that I could continue my hunt.

I reached into the darkness of the cellarway and flicked on the light so that I would not trip and fall down the stairs. My feet moved slowly and carefully, and I payed close attention to where I stepped. These steps were old and creaky, and a few of them had broken in the past. Dad had replaced most of them last year, so I wasn't entirely worried about them. But still.

Dad... He always fixed everything. Anytime something went wrong, whether it be with wood, the gas stove or water heater, or anything, he would come to the rescue and figure out a solution. I don't know how exactly I was supposed to do that. I had never taken woodshop class, and I didn't really know much about electrical parts or anything of the sort. As a handyman, I would be pretty useless.

Maybe Minato had some wisdom on the topic, and perhaps he could teach me a few things.

I reached the base of the steps and turned towards the right, moving in the direction of the old washer and dryer. First off, to be sure, I opened the washing machine, and there was nothing in it. That was a relief, because anything that would have been in there would have to be part of the trash. Mold would have rotted anything that had been wet and left in the washing machine for almost a week.

I bent over and opened up the dryer, listening to its echoing click as the door was yanked from its body.

Here they were. There were a total of six blankets in the dryer, and I heaved them out one by one and balled them into a pile in my arms. They were freezing cold from being down here for so long, but they would warm up.

All of the blankets had filled the dryer's mouth to the max, and I subconsciously thanked it for taking on such a challenging load. My mother had faith in her old machines, and so I would too.

I closed the dryer door with my foot and began moving blindly back towards the stairs. The format of my house was so familiar to me, that I only needed to feel around with my feet to know where everything was in proximity to me. I could sense the stairs before I felt my toes tap the bottom one, and so I slowly ascended, using precaution, as so not to stumble.

The moment I reached the acme of the stairs, I heard tapping on my back door. Throwing the giant bundle of blankets on the table, I glanced at the door on the next wall and saw Sakura and Sasuke standing on my back porch.

Sakura waved to me when she saw me, and I returned the gesture with a simple smile before unlocking the door and lugging it open. As if it wasn't cold enough inside, the winter air seemed to rush into my house full blast. However, I knew how physics worked, and I knew that my previous statement was only an exaggeration; rather, the heat was fleeing from my house, crying out in freedom.

"Hey, Hinata," Sakura laughed, lightening the mood in my house and embracing me in a quick, effective hug. After she retreated, I brushed the bangs out of my face and glanced back and forth between the couple, and remembered the conversation that Naruto and I had last night about their relationship.

My face turned red, of course.

"What are you doing here?" I asked shyly, taking inconspicuous deep breaths and trying to get the redness to fade from my cheeks. I admired Sakura's pink locks that she had pulled up into a messy bun, her fringe still hanging around the sides of her face.

"A bunch of us are going out to breakfast together, to jump-start the Thanksgiving break, and I figured that you might want to come."

"Who is coming?" I asked curiously.

"Me and Sasuke, of course, Shikamaru and Temari, Kiba, maybe Choji. I think Lee is still in town for break, so I texted him and asked if he wanted to tag along."

"What about Tenten?" Sasuke thought aloud, his eyes flickering to Sakura, who returned the look. Her face scrunched in thought.

_Tenten_, I pondered the name, and after postulating for a moment, I came to the connection. I think she and Neji were really close before his parents were killed. They may have been on the verge of being a couple. I remember I heard Neji mention her name all the time when we were in middle school, and the way he talked about her reminded me of how I talked about Naruto.

"I dunno, I think she said she was busy." Sakura turned her attention back to me and brightened her mood again. Anyways, what do you say?"

I let my eyes fall to the table, where my massive, unorganized pile of blankets lay, and I thought of Naruto still passed out up on my bed.

"I'd have to go wake up Naruto," I said innocently, and Sakura's grin widened.

"Naruto slept over here last night?" Her voice grew high with excitement for juicy gossip. While I had become quite fond of Sakura, I wasn't sure I wanted to tell her about the possibility of Naruto and I becoming a couple. I didn't want her and Sasuke talking about our relationship, because I definitely felt uncomfortable talking about theirs. In a response to Sakura's question, I nodded. "Tell me everything!"

I shrugged. I wasn't going to lie to her, however I just wasn't going to tell her about the fact that he kissed me with the heat of a thousand burning suns. Thoughts of that kiss made my skin ice over and goosebumps formed.

"We slept," I said. "It was a long day, with the funeral and everything, and Naruto stayed with me at the hospital until nine. We were tired."

Sakura didn't seem satisfied. She placed her hands on her hips as stared at me as it I had two heads.

"So you're telling me that he was here all night and you didn't sleep together?"

"We slept together," I said shyly, but not realizing the context that she meant.

"So something did happen?" I cocked my head at her, confused at what she was getting at. I wasn't sure what part she wasn't understanding. We were tired, so we slept together in my bed.

"Sakura, I think she means they shared the same bed," Sasuke spoke up. "I doubt they went any further."

Only then did it occur to me what she was talking about, and the discoloration came back into my face. She thought we had sex.

"No, no, no," I waved my hands out in front of my body nervously. "We didn't have sex. We slept; nothing more."

I heard drowsy footsteps puttering down the stairs, and all eyes turned to see Naruto in his sweats and bare feet walking into my kitchen. The moment he set foot into the small room, he knew he was being watched. He dragged his feet over to me and placed his hand at the small of my back, and I watched as his eyes flickered back and forth between me and Sakura.

Sakura lifted an eyebrow, clearly noticing the physical contact between the two of us, and I had to say it one more time to get it through her head.

"We didn't have sex!" I shouted in a voice barely over a whisper, and Naruto's face flushed, clearly as embarrassed as I was to be discussing intimate matters, even though they did not happen. It could happen eventually, which is why I believe we were both flustered at the mention of a physical and private relationship between Naruto and me.

If and when it did happen, I planned to keep the matter to myself, sharing that information with nobody. If Naruto and I ended up making love to one another, I wanted to keep that bliss between the two of us. I was selfish, and I didn't want to share any part of my love for him.

Yes, he was that precious to me.

_I love him._


	12. Chapter 12

_Chapter Twelve_

Thanksgiving came within a blink of an eye, mainly because yesterday flew by rapidly. Breakfast with friends from school was a nice change of pace, and I could tell that everybody was concerned about me. They tried so hard not to show it, so I didn't let on that I was aware. I smiled yesterday, and I even laughed a few times. Under the table, Naruto and I held hands tightly, and sometimes he would squeeze mine, letting me know that he was here for me.

The fact that I now had Naruto was almost overwhelming, but I was filled with so much happiness, despite the fact that a great loss had just avalanched my life. When he beamed a squinty-eyed, ear to ear grin at me, I couldn't help but return a warm grin back at him. I still blushed whenever we were met eye to eye, and I don't know if that would ever go away. I believe that, deep down, I would always be the quiet, shy girl that I have always been.

The only difference was the idea that that invisible little girl had an enthusiastic, confident boy by her side.

On Thanksgiving day, Kushina invited me over to the Namikaze-Uzumaki household. She had been preparing an extensive dinner whenever Naruto and I walked in, and the juicy aroma of turkey wafted through my nasal cavities.

I ended up in the kitchen, helping Kushina by making the dough for a pumpkin pie. I remembered how to do this, because of foods class back in my freshman year. Naruto had never taken that course, but he came in to help me kneed the dough anyway.

The T-shirt that he wore ended up riding up his biceps as he caressed the dough forcefully, and I stole a peek at his beautiful muscles. Of course, I had seen his arms in action, because of basketball, but this was up close and personal. I was mere inches from Naruto, and at times, we would accidentally bump into one another.

While I was thrilled to be a part of Naruto's family traditions and festivities, a dark pain still fell over my head. This was the first Thanksgiving that I was not able to spend with my own family. I would never taste my mom's homemade cooking ever again - not that I thought Kushina couldn't do a great job in culinary arts. However, it wasn't the same as eating the food that my mother had slaved in the kitchen all day making, just for us.

I would help her sometimes, and we would laugh together, and talk about whatever. I would tell her about school and about Naruto, and she would tell me that I needed to be more confident if I wanted to talk to him. Whenever I would blush, my mom would drop everything she was doing and she would throw her arms around my shoulders, squeezing me tightly.

_"Hinata!"_ she would cry out, chuckling in my ear. _"You're so cute!"_

My dad often had a way of intruding when my mom was having one of her moments, and he couldn't seem to keep a straight face. I know he tried to hide it, but I could see the ends of his lips crinkle upwards into a minute smile. My reserved nature, I was well aware, came from my father. It definitely hadn't come from my mother, who was so outgoing, no matter what was happening.

_"Don't harass our daughter,"_ Dad would say and open the refrigerator to grab a bottle of beer. _"You'll give her a complex."_

My mother would turn to my father and press her fists to her hips. _"At least I'm trying to build her self esteem,"_ she would say, and though her voice was harsh, I knew she was only joking. _"Heaven forbid she find someone like you; that would be a quiet relationship."_

Perhaps that was initially why I was drawn to Naruto. He was so much like my mother that it wasn't funny. The two of them were always smiling, and they were loud and sometimes obnoxious to the people around them. But I liked that about my mother, and I wished that I could have grown up to be just like her.

However, if I had grown into her ways, I don't think Naruto and I would be compatible, because there would have been too much energy in that relationship.

But now that my mother and father were gone, I couldn't help but to think of myself as their living legacy. While looking like my mother, I acted like my father.

I couldn't stop myself from clenching the dough tightly within my fingers, and my muscles trembled as I cried. The kitchen grew silent as I mourned the tragic loss of my family; Naruto quit kneading his half of the dough for a moment and turned his sorrowful eyes to the side of my face. The longer bangs that hung on the side of my face fell into the racecourse of my tears, cutting them off.

Naruto, dropping his hands from the sticky gluten on the counter, drew his arms around me and compressing me tightly within them. My shoulders dropped and my head fell.

"I'm sorry," I choked out, trying so desperately, without any avail, to stop crying. But the pain that ripped through my heart as I realized that this was all real was horrific. I felt as though I could scream and shatter into all these little shards, collapse into the darkness again, and let myself be consumed.

"Don't apologize," Naruto coaxed in an uneasy voice, and I immediately knew that he had begun to cry along with me, again. His grip around my body tightened, and he pressed his forehead to my temple. With trembling hands, I clutched his arms over my chest, digging my fingers into his flesh. "Don't ever apologize, Hinata."

_I'm so sorry._

OoO

Kushina had prepared dinner early, to the point where the four of us were sitting down at their kitchen table and feasting before four o'clock. She hadn't had to ask me to know that I was planning on going to visit Neji today. That was why she served our banquet so soon, I imagine.

And everything tasted delicious. My tastebuds were enhanced tenfold, possibly even more, and each one of my senses were enriched in the home-cooked gourmet.

I felt bad for Naruto's family, because they had to put up with me the entire day, and deal with my unstable emotions. I've been completely bipolar ever since Sunday, and some minutes I would be laughing with everybody, then the next I would be on my knees in tears and holding myself together.

But nobody said anything. They didn't appear to be annoyed with my teetering emotions, and they all were so kind to me. Really, I was happy to be in the warm and welcoming embrace of this new family. While neither Minato and Kushina were like my father, my mother's memory lingered in both of them. They were both so outgoing, and Kushina was energetic, like her son. I really and truly did appreciate them taking me under their wings.

And Naruto; no matter how many times I lost it, he continued time and time again to drop everything he was doing and rush to my side, always prepared to swaddle me in his warmth. The affection that he showed me heated my heart, and, I could feel, slowly but surely, he began stitching my internal wounds.

I felt a new love, deep within me, that radiated from my very being. While I did lose something precious and dear to me, I also gained something that I believe will gradually begin filling the hole. Of course, I would never be whole again, because what I lost, I could never get back.

Sometimes I had to wonder; if I had a time machine, would I erase the compassion that was poured into me by so many people these past few days, just to see my parents one last time. Would I throw away the love that my friends have smothered me with? In moments like these, where I didn't feel alone, I don't know if I could make such a decision.

I love Naruto, and I loved his parents. While she could really sometimes embarrass me, I really cared about Sakura; she was my closest girlfriend. Though Sasuke and I only exchanged a few words here and there, I sensed that we were friends. Lee, Kiba and Choij, and Shikamaru and Temari; I have come to really care about each and every one of them. I believe that it would be difficult - if I had had the choice - to let them all go.

In complete honesty, I don't think I would be willing to let them all become mere memories. I was torn between whether or not I would keep things the way they are now, or go back to a time when my parents were alive and Neji wasn't in the hospital.

Why was I even worrying about this? It wasn't like time machines existed, and it wasn't like I could ever go back to any such time.

However, my mind could not be soothed, and it forced me to try to come to an answer to that scenario.

Would I be a terrible person if I didn't want to give up the closeness that has come between the people around me now?

I never asked anybody this question. Not even Neji. I didn't want to know the answer.

Ooo

Whenever Naruto and I, hand in hand, turned the corner and stepped into Neji's hospital room, we were both shocked to see someone else sitting at his bedside.

Tenten had pulled a chair up to the side of the bed that I typically sat on, and she held his left hand the way I did. Whenever she heard us come in and noticed Neji's eyes push past her, she turned around to meet her gaze with mine. Her brown eyes flickered to our hands, interlocked tightly, and she turned her eyes to the floor almost immediately after.

That was strange. I thought that Neji and Tenten stopped talking once Aunt and Uncle died all those years ago.

"Um, hi Tenten," I said, moving into the room, pulling Naruto along with me. I think everybody in the room - minus Naruto - knew what I was thinking about. The atmosphere was tense, and Tenten never looked back up towards me. I grew concerned whenever I noticed her eyes beginning to water, but she stood up immediately and grabbed her bag from the floor.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly before bounding from the room. My eyes followed her as she left, and I wondered how cold Neji had been to her to force her on the verge of tears. The room was silent for a moment as my eyes chased after Tenten until she became invisible beyond the walls of the hospital. Once she was out of sight, I went to exchange a glance with Naruto, but his attention was focused on my cousin. I followed his gaze, and my heart shattered.

Neji - the unbreakable Neji - had succumbed to emotion and was weeping in his hospital bed. He squeezed his eyes shut and his eyebrows trembled as they pulled together. With his left hand compressed tightly into a fist, he swiftly let out part of the breath that had been contained in his lungs.

"Neji," I stepped towards him, dropping Naruto's hand and folding mine at my chest, "what just happened?"

"She shouldn't have come here," he sobbed softly, trying so hard to regain composure. "She had to have known it could only bring bad things."

"What bad things?" I questioned, and I realized that he was afraid of coming close to people after so long. He had pushed Lee and Tenten away whenever he needed them most, and never told them why he never wanted to speak with them again. "Neji, you can't keep kicking the people that care about you out of your life. They might never come back."

"I can't do it, Hinata!" Neji snapped, and his heart rate increased. The bleeping of the machine in the room alerted me that I was being a nuisance to him. "If I don't let people get close, then I can't get hurt."

I shook my head and tightened my grip on my hands. "You're wrong!" I shouted softly. "You're hurting because you won't let them come close." I glanced over my shoulder at Naruto, who exchanged the look. "Neji, when I got home after that day of finding out that my parents were dead eight days ago, I left the world behind me. I suffered alone and in darkness. I knew people around me were there, and wanted to help, but I just couldn't do it.

"I pushed them all away. I didn't want to believe that what was happening to me was real. I wanted to be alone, to suffer in my own silence. And I did so for three days.

"Despite the fact that I tried to push Naruto out of my life, he pushed me back harder and reminded me that I didn't have to deal with my grief alone.

"Neji, what exactly happened between you and Tenten?" I asked him, lowering myself into the seat that she had formerly occupied. Knowing that he wasn't going to respond to my question quickly, I was preparing myself to sit there for a while. But he took in a breath to speak, baffling me for a moment.

"We were so ready to start dating." Neji's eyelids slid open and his eyes touched the ceiling. "But her parents and mine both requested that we wait until we reached high school to make it official. We were okay with that, and neither of us could wait until we graduated from junior high and walked through the doors of the high school as a new couple.

"Over the summer, Tenten and I spent every waking moment together. We had innocent fun together, and we really enjoyed one another's company. My parents really liked Tenten, and they approved of her, likewise with her family.

"A few weeks before high school started, my parents were killed, as you know. Devastation hit me hard, and I wanted nobody around me. It was hard enough being around you and Aunt and Uncle. I wanted to be alone and in solitude.

"So I pushed Tenten away from me. I just cut ties, and stopped speaking with her. I did the same to Lee, and neither of them understood it. After that, I spoke to nobody outside of our tiny family, and I was alone.

"I wanted to die. Why was it that my parents were taken away from me, and I could not follow them? It would have been completely frowned upon, had I taken my own life.

"I was a wreck, and I didn't want to bring the people that I once cared about down with me. Tenten; I never really stopped loving her, and I never completely severed the bond between myself and Lee. While physically, I did, emotionally I didn't seem to have the strength to let their memories go."

I was so astounded to hear such words come out of his mouth, and my chin dropped, but no words came out. I didn't know what to say.

Turning around in attempt to call on Naruto for help, I ended up whirling around. He was nowhere to be seen. I was confused, and I bit my lip roughly. Neji refused to look at me, and his fist was trembling as he applied more and more pressure. His heart beat quicker and quicker as he attempted to relax himself.

"Neji, why was Tenten here?"

His breathing was rough, and his blinking was slow. "She was concerned. Somehow, word got out that I was dying in the hospital, and she rushed in here yesterday bawling her eyes out. When she saw me, she collapsed to her hands and knees and was hysterical.

"She told me that, despite the fact that I abandoned her without any reason or rhyme, she never stopped loving me. As the years passed, she said she tried so hard to forget about me, but she couldn't; she was so concerned day after day."

I sat down and grasped Neji's quivering hand, holding it still and constricting my fingers around it. "And how do you feel about everything?"

When he tried to speak, his voice broke, so he took a deep breath and attempted to start again. "I still love her, Hinata."

"Neji!" Tenten's voice echoed from the doorway, and I whipped my head around, my long hair revolving around the side of my head. Neji's eyes were on her immediately, and he was dumbfounded, at a loss for words. Tenten's face was red, and her eyes were puffy. She looked just like I did all this past week. I could tell that she had been obsessing over the terrible thing had happened, and she was wishing that she had been back in the past, in easier times.

I could feel for her. My empathy for her emotions were all too real, and I dropped Neji's hand, standing up. Naruto was at Tenten's side, and at that moment, I knew that he had gone chasing after her, and I was grateful to him for that.

"Tenten," I spoke, shy to this girl who I barely knew, "please, don't give up on him. He is still recovering."

_Please,_ I begged, internally falling to my hands knees, _be his crutch until he can finally move on._

Tenten's eyebrows pulled together, and her chocolate eyes flashed towards me. "I won't, Hinata. You have my word."

I nodded, thanking her without words.

While it was difficult for me to do, I forced myself to leave the room, dragging Naruto along with me. Neji and Tenten had a lot to talk about, and I prayed that she would save him, and put a warm smile back on his face. I hoped that Lee would be compassionate, and would go back to being friends with Neji.

Yes, I was being greedy, but my greed was for the benefit of someone that I loved dearly, and I would sacrifice anything for him.

I thought of Naruto, of how he had been - and is still acting as - my supporting leg. I was so grateful to him for everything he had done for me, and for ignoring my attempt to push him out of my life. He shoved right past my sorrow, invading in on it, and he yanked me out of the despair.

While Tenten was four years late, I still prayed that she could save him. She needed to dive deep into the darkness in order to reach him. I truly believe that she could reach him.

Naruto turned to me and stopped, his grip tightening on my hand. Somehow we had gotten onto the street, right outside of the hospital. He didn't say anything; rather, he gazed into my eyes tenderly. I scanned his entire face, beholding such intent emotion.

Without a word, he placed his hands on my hips and stepped a half-step closer to my body, leaning down to gingerly press his lips to mine. My stomach did backflips as I attempted to use what he indirectly taught me about kissing. I opened my mouth and my tongue brushed his. My insides jumped at this contact, but Naruto's grasp on my hips moved to my back and tightened.

I followed his lead, moving my grip to his scapulas and I clung to him with a heightening fervor that made my body feel different. But that different - while it was something I had never experienced before in real life - was an exciting, exhilarating feeling.

My body grew warm, and I found my chest completely compressed to Naruto's, and I felt every muscle under his skin clench and release tension. I really took notice to how much body fat he lacked. Everything on his body was firm, and I could feel individual muscles and bones as I shifted my body around his.

I felt Naruto's hips twitch, and he retreated from me as if I had the plague. His breathing was rough - as if I had any room to talk - and his cheeks were stained a light red.

"Maybe it's not the best idea to start this out in public..."


	13. Chapter 13

_Chapter Thirteen_

The moment Naruto and I stepped into my dusky bedroom, we collapsed onto my bed, wrapped around one another tighter than snakes. I wasn't sure how any of this was supposed to work, and I doubt that we were going to advance on our relationship so quickly. We weren't Sasuke and Sakura; we wanted time to know one another on an intimate level before jumping into such rash acts.

But this was nice. I never really thought that having a man's body on top of me could make me feel so jittery and alive. But with Naruto, I threw out all of my worries and concerns, and the universe stopped. For so long, it was just me and him, him and me. It was simply us, together in one another's company, kissing until we couldn't breathe, and then gasping for air that seemed snug in our lungs.

Naruto took a single hand and entwined his fingers with mine, holding my hand as we shifted positions, never once breaking that sweet and passionate hold on our lips.

My body felt as though it was moving on its own, and my legs lifted off of the bed and strangled Naruto's hips. Being tangled around him like this felt all too right, and if he would have initiated sexual interaction, I don't think I would have had the strength or the will to refuse him.

My mind told me that we shouldn't jump right into it, but the rest of my body disregarded the logical reasoning.

Naruto broke our kiss to whisper something to me, and I almost missed it. "Hinata," he murmured sweetly, before returning to our passion. We kissed a few more times before he did it again. "We shouldn't do this," he said, and my eyelashes fluttered open. I knew exactly that he had the same thinking as I did, and I nodded.

"I know," I said, and unlocked my ankles from the small of his back. I sat up as he moved backwards, standing up, but turning quickly, as if he were hiding something. However, I had sharp eyes, and twenty-twenty vision. He couldn't have turned away fast enough for me not to see a bulge at his hips.

I couldn't help myself; as he kept his back to me, I burst out laughing, and I scared myself. My voice had never gotten so loud before, and he glanced over his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" I waved my hand in front of me, and my voice had gotten lower by hundreds of decibels.

Naruto looked frustrated and embarrassed, and his feet moved swiftly towards the door. His entire body was stiff as he attempted to hide the completely natural reaction from me.

"I'm going to take a shower," he said, and I bit my lip, knowing that he was planning on staying overnight again. I liked when we slept together. It made me feel nice to be wrapped in the arms of someone else while I dreamed.

"I'll get you a towel," I told him as I pressed my feet onto the squeaky floorboards and followed him out of the room. He made a B-line for the bathroom and slammed the door shut immediately after stepping onto the icy tiles. I moved past the closed door and galloped down the stairs. I could have ran the course of my house blindfolded, and I was barely paying any attention to my surroundings. Right now, my head was in the clouds and my body felt featherlight. I could have drifted away at a simple gust of wind.

The kitchen light was off, and the only light that poured into my house was from the silver glimmer of the moon, beaming down upon my figure. I stepped into the illumination and stopped for a moment, glancing out the window beyond the sink. I knew it would have been a cliché for the moon to be completely full, but even so, I was a little disappointed. Rather, it was waning away, leaving a frail smile.

For a moment or so, I simply stood there, still as a statue, hypnotized by the beauty of the moon, and I wondered if it could see Naruto and me, and how much we cared for one another. I wondered if it was happy that the universe forced us to cross paths. And, of course, I was also curious if it intended to keep us together for eternity.

I hoped that the universe was pleased at our newfound love, and that it would do everything in its heavenly power to keep us together.

_I love him..._

Though my body turned away from the window, my eyes remained on the night sky, and they stayed there until I began moving towards the basement. When the outlining of the window cut off my view, I returned my eyes to my destination, already reaching my hand out to grasp the knob. Twisting with a flick of my wrist, the door opened in my direction with a terrible groan.

I stepped into the cellarway and flicked on the light, which twinkled with a lack of motivation, trying to wake up from its long nap. My feet stepped down onto the first stair, which groaned under my weight. The second step repeated the creak of the first, and the third one gave out the moment I let my weight fall down upon it.

My heart jumped as I was suddenly falling straight down, and my head cracked against the second stair, forcing stars to pepper my vision. I let out a cry as I grasped the fourth stair, praying that it didn't break. My head and my left leg pulsed, and I think both body parts were drizzling blood.

From the other part of the house, I could hear quick steps on the top floor, and then they scampered down the stairs in haste.

"Hinata?!" I heard Naruto's voice call out for me, complete and utter terror spicing his tongue. I curled my knees up as I struggled to pull myself up. However, the space in between the stairs was too small for me to have ample movement.

"I'm in here!" I called out, returning his cry, and the sound of his feet pounded across the kitchen and to the acme of the basement steps. "Be careful," I warned.

Naruto moved across the first and second stair with ease, then placed one foot on the second, the other on the fourth. He placed both hands under either of my arms and bent his knees, and I think he planned to lift me out.

"Watch your knees," he instructed me as he began unfolding his legs, lifting completely with his knees. The wood that had broken stabbed into the flesh on my thigh and tore my skin as Naruto hauled me upwards. He maneuvered his hands, one moving to caress my hip, the other cradling the backs of my thighs, and he princess-lifted me out of the basement.

His skin and hair was still dripping with water from the shower, and the only thing he wore was a pair of sweatpants. I don't think he had had time to dab the water off of him with anything before I had fallen.

Naruto carried me out of the cellarway and back into the kitchen, where he rushed over to the counter and plopped me down on top of it. He moved swiftly to the side of the wall and flicked on the kitchen light, which came on with less attitude than the basement light did. In an instant, he was back in front of me.

"Where's your first aid kit?" he asked me, and I just stared at him for a moment. The the pulsing in my head made my vision flood with black fog for a few passing seconds. Within those seconds, Naruto's face was completely blinded, and I momentarily experienced a wave of fear.

"I don't have one," I told him, and he scanned my eyes, searching for something unknown to me. There was a sharp pain in the back of my head, and I winced. He noticed.

He backed away a few feet, his hand held out to me as if I were a dog being trained to stay. "Wait here. I'm going to ask Sasuke to bring one over."

I was about to interject, but he went sprinting up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. I had no time to even get a beginning breath out. I didn't want to bother Sasuke. It was ten thirty at night, so he was probably already getting ready for bed.

Unless he was with Sakura. Then...

I blushed thinking about it, and I was reminded about how that same thing could have happened between Naruto and me tonight. A part of me was glad that we were waiting, while the other part felt sexually frustrated. I wanted to know what it felt like - physically and emotionally. I mean, it had to be nice, right? That's why Sasuke and Sakura did it all the time, right?

I really cared about Naruto, so there was no way that I was going to initiate a breakup. I was already aware that I wanted to someday walk down the aisle in a stunning white dress, and meet him at the altar, where we would be wed.

I knew I was way, way ahead of myself, but what woman doesn't dream of her wedding day? It just so happened that in my dream, I had already picked out the man that I hoped to see marry me.

Naruto came down the stairs in an endless, continuing haste. I wasn't entirely sure why he was panicking. It wasn't like I haven't been hurt before. And it wasn't like my injuries were that bad; I wasn't gushing blood or anything.

"Sasuke's coming over," he said to me, an index finger on his bottom lip.

I smiled a little bit. It was kind of cute that he was afraid for my physical well-being, but he was freaking out over nothing.

"So please, stay there until he gets here," he begged me, and I sighed. There was no way I'd be able to argue with him successfully.

The only thing I was particularly concerned with at this moment was the fact that the stair leading to the basement needed to be repaired. I didn't know how to fix it, and I wasn't entirely sure if Naruto had any knowledge in handiwork. Did Sasuke, maybe?

"Tomorrow, we'll go out and get some wood planks and fix your stairs," Naruto said, placing both hands on either side of my thighs, leaning in closer to me. My heart thudded louder than my voice could ever force itself, and I was completely sure he could hear it. "Until then, it'd probably be best if you stayed up here." His words were soft, and his breath was warm against my lips.

The kitchen light above the table flickered temperamentally, and it died with a minute clicking noise. It was dark again; The moonlight fell down upon Naruto's face, illuminating with such natural beauty. Tints of blue from the nighttime highlighted everything in the room, including the man in front of me. But colors were the last thing on my mind.

I wanted so badly to kiss him, but even still, I had not gained enough confidence in myself to initiate the desired action. My hands trembled as I lifted them, moving them onto his shoulders, and they wanted to explore the contours of his chest. My fragile little hands caressed his clavicles, and moved to his tight chest, which seemed to excite me.

I blushed, but I forced myself to keep my eyes on him, and he did the same. We gazed into the depths of one another's soul, connecting on a deeper level than any amount of physical action could possibly take us. Suddenly, a warmth began to pool over my body, as if it were some foreign liquid flowing throughout my body. If there was a color to describe this sensation, I would say gold. It was such a pulchritudinous feeling that welled up from my core, and it shined through everything else.

"_Never forget what your heart desires."_ Neji's voice echoed in the back of my head, and I couldn't help myself from smiling. It was him who had given us the confidence to confess to one another; or had at least given Naruto the confidence. I could never thank Neji enough for saying those words to us. If he hadn't, I wouldn't be so close to Naruto physically.

We were so close, our lips mere inches from connecting in a heated fiery passion. I could feel small puffs of air on my cheeks, and I'm sure he could feel them come from me, too. Our noses brushed one another a few times, and every time they did, my stomach began practicing for the gymnastics portion of the Olympic games.

Oh, gosh, I wanted to kiss him so badly. Why was he toying with me like this? He could probably hear my heart growing louder and louder with every passing second.

My eyelashes fluttered and my pupils were covered as I prepared to cover the minute space in between our mouths. But as I did so, so did Naruto, only he did not need mental preparation. He dove right in with complete and utter confidence, and his lips swept over mine, sending chills down my spine.

The initial kiss was long, and he focused mainly on my bottom lip. It had to have lasted at least five seconds before it broke, and we both opened our mouths for one another, becoming heated again. With gentle touches, his hands held my hips possessively, and he stepped closer, pressing his hips against the edge of the counter. My thumbs snaked up the sides of his face, while the rest of my fingers clutched the back of his neck. A few fingers toyed with the dripping wet blonde locks that hung from the back of his head. I coiled his hair around my index and middle fingers.

My nerves were completely stimulated whenever Naruto's tongue brushed against the base of my bottom lip, and a slight, unintentional whine emerged from within my throat.

_Oh my gosh..._ I was so embarrassed, and I knew that my face was fire-hydrant red.

Naruto chuckled and broke the kiss so he could see my face. "Why are you red? I could feel your skin get hotter," he laughed.

Out of sheer discombobulation, my muscles contracted, and I squeezed Naruto's hips in between my knees.

A grin that reached ear to ear stretched across his face and a bold bellow was generated from deep within his chest. Naruto's hands were released from my sides and he brought them upwards to cradle my jaw. With small kisses, he pecked my lips at the ends, and then the center, and the top.

"You're so cute, Hinata," he murmured.

"_Hinata!"_ my mother's voice shouted jovially inside my head, and my skin grew cold. _"You're so cute!"_

Naruto _was_ exactly like my mother. He sounded so much like her, and he even unknowingly quoted what she would always say to me.

My grip on Naruto's shoulders tightened, so much so that my wrists cracked and my fingers trembled. Naruto stopped kissing me and backed up far enough to where he could see my eyebrows coming together. I knew he could tell that something wasn't right, because my eyes kept going out of focus.

"Hinata?" His voice quivered as he spoke my name, frightened by my sudden reaction. "Are you alright?"

"I'm..." I spoke, trying so hard to focus on him, but my eyes just kept trying to space out. "I'm okay. I promise." I blinked three times, finally winning over my vision. Naruto's face was misshapen, twisted in genuine concern for my well being.

"Hinata..."

I caressed his jaw, just like he did mine, and I leaned forward, planting a single romantic kiss upon his lips. His muscles were stiff, and I could tell that he didn't believe me.

But really, I was okay. I was beginning to accept the fact that my parents were gone. And truly, I was happy to be able to see my mother in Naruto. My mom was a magnificent woman, constantly catering to the needs and desires of other people, and she always had a positive attitude. She was a professional at making others feel good about themselves; she was so good, I think she should have gotten paid.

"I won't ever lie to you, Naruto," I whispered staring him straight in the eye, my seriousness never faltering. Again, he began scanning my face in search of the truth, despite the fact that I just threw the truth at him. "That's my promise to you."

There was a knock on my back door, and both Naruto and I glanced to my right - his left - and we saw Sasuke standing outside the screen door. He could see us in the kitchen, and my gaze met his and it locked.

"Am I interrupting something?" he spoke loud enough to penetrate the glass of the kitchen window, but not so intense that he would disturb the surrounding neighbors.

Naruto reluctantly removed himself from in between my knees and went to unlock the door for Sasuke, who held a bag in his hands. I'm guessing that was the first aid kit.

I sighed, but I didn't move from the counter, or else Naruto would have returned to his panicking mode.

In a way, though, I was so happy to know that he worried about me. It let me know that he really and truly cared. For a moment, while Naruto was explaining to Sasuke what had happened with my faulty basement stairs, I smiled and shrugged my shoulders, touching them to my ears.

Naruto makes me so happy.


	14. Chapter 14

_Chapter Fourteen_

Thanksgiving break passed by too quickly, and my relationship with Naruto grew stronger with each passing day. I ended up going to basketball practice with the guys, and they greeted me warmly. They were being cautious, watching everything they said. I noticed that nobody brought up the dinners that their mothers made on the holiday, and I knew it was because of the accident with my own family.

Tsunade and I ran through drills with the guys, and she had me on the court, catching the basketballs that the guys were supposed to steal. I had never seen this drill; Tsunade stood on the left wing, and she had me take point. The basketball rack was at her right side, and she held a single ball in triple-threat. There was only one player guarding the both of us at a time, and I heard her say "zone-defense."

"You guys need to learn to intercept and steal," Tsunade said, her voice hard and authoritative, "because let's face it; all of you suck at that." All of the guys stood at the foul line in an orderly fashion, waiting for their turn for the drill. "Sasuke, you're up first," Tsunade ordered, and Sasuke immediately stepped forward, ready to intercept the ball that Tsunade was going to throw at me. "Here's how this works: I'm going to throw this ball to Hinata in some sort of fashion that you may see in a game. If you intercept it, you have to dribble it down to the opposite end and score a layup. If you fail to intercept it, pick up the ball and put it back in the cart. Either way, ball goes back in the cart and you get yourself back in line."

I hoped she wouldn't throw it too hard at me, but I knew that that hope was pointless. This was an aggressive sport, and I had to do my best to help the team get better.

I was glad that Sakura had bought me some athletic attire whenever she and Sasuke purchased all those clothes for me at the beginning of this year. At first, they felt strange, especially the yoga pants. I wasn't used to form-fitting pants, and initially felt completely self-conscious, like always. The teal tank top that I ended up throwing over a black sports bra was extremely loose, and it felt like it completely defeated the purpose of wearing a shirt. The sides hung excessively low, exposing the skin that covered my ribs.

I glanced over at Sasuke, who hung his thumbs from the excess material on his practice jersey. He waited for Tsunade to give the order to start. I was sweating profusely, and the drill had yet to start.

Tsunade bent her knees slightly and stared her player in the face, attempting to intimidate him like another basketball player might. It worked on me; she was actually pretty scary. Sasuke, however, kept a straight face. He bent his knees, placing his right foot in front of his left, and his arms were out, denying the pass.

Tsunade went to throw the ball, stopping short and never allowing it to slip through her fingers. That had a term, didn't it? I think it was called a fake. Sasuke jerked in the direction of the ball, but saw the fake, and so remained with the balls of his feet planted on the floor.

When I least expected it, Tsunade chucked the ball at me full forced, and I almost screamed as I threw my arms out in front of me to stop it from hitting me in my chest. Everybody could tell that I flinched, but the ball was stopped by the grip of my hands.

I just saw my life flash before my eyes.

Because I was holding it, that meant that Sasuke had failed to intercept it. I felt kind of guilty for that, but I tried not to let it show.

Tsunade grabbed another ball out of the cart. "Chuck it, Hinata," she told me. "Throw it as far as you can." My eyes flickered to Sasuke, who waited for the ball to be thrown so that he could chase it like a dog. I felt really bad doing this, but with both hands, I whipped it across the court, where it bounced once before smacking the wall at the other end of the gym. "Now lets keep it moving!" Tsunade shouted, and I knew that she wanted me to throw the balls away without a thought. She wanted me to focus on the next player, constantly.

Shikamaru stepped up to the plate and took the same stance as Sasuke had; on his tiptoes, his gaze crossed in the center of the gap between Tsunade's and my bodies, and I wondered why he focused on the other end of the wall and not on Coach.

She said nothing though. Instead, we continued with the drill, and she kept her eyes on Shikamaru at the same time as throwing the ball. It caught me off guard, but luckily her aim was precise, luckily for me.

Again, the ball zipped to my hands and clung to them as if they were magnetic, calling the ball towards them. Without a second thought, I tossed the ball behind me, and Shikamaru sprinted after it.

Naruto followed Shikamaru, then Choji, and Kiba after him. None of them were able to intercept the ball, and so none of them had made a layup. I wasn't entirely sure how long this drill went on, but the system continued to cycle through, always beginning with Sasuke.

I managed to glance at the clock whenever there was a tiny break in between players, and I saw that we had been at this for over an hour. It was easy to see the frustration in the faces of the guys, and Tsunade, too, was becoming annoyed with the fact that her team couldn't get their hands on the ball.

"That's it!" Tsunade threw her hands on her hips and eyed her team. "Give me twenty laps!" she bellowed, and the guys jogged to the outside of the court and began their consequence. I turned my eyes to Tsunade, who pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned.

"Do you mind if I run with them?" I asked, and she glanced at me with an awkward stare. I bit my lip nervously.

"Why would you want to do that?"

I gulped; she was completely terrifying whenever she was mad. I swear I could see fire in her sephia eyes.

"You always say I'm just as much a part of this team as they are, so I should run with them." I folded my hands behind my back. Tsunade waved her hand at me, telling me to get going, and I grinned, taking off running to catch up with the guys.

This was the first time I had ever really run outside of gym class, and I wondered if I could keep up with the guys as well as run twenty laps with them. I caught up with Choji, who turned his eyes to me, confused on to why I was running with them. I smiled shyly and returned my eyes to the front of line of running guys. Naruto and Sasuke were at the very front, side-by-side, and I think they were competing with one another.

There was no way I'd be able to catch up with Naruto, especially if I was going to run all twenty laps with them. I decided that it would probably be best to stay back here with Choji.

I didn't realize how hard twenty laps could be. They just seemed to go on and on, and my breath was coming shy. I could hear Choji's breathing getting harder and harder, and I considered him my motivation; as long as he kept going, then so would I. Even on the nineteenth lap, Naruto and Sasuke were neck-in-neck, sweating profusely. Their practice jerseys were sticking to their backs, and I could see a dark line down the crease in their spines.

_You can do it, Naruto._ I cheered him on in my mind, because if I were to yell out, I think my lungs may explode. Although, in the back of my mind, I knew that Naruto would be able to finish the consequence assigned by Tsunade. Me, on the other hand, may collapse and begin wheezing for air.

All of a sudden, Naruto and Sasuke came to a stop in front of Tsunade, and I realized that we were finishing up our last lap. Choji and I were at the back of the train, pushing ourselves to make it through and finish strong.

Once the guys stopped, I was halfway through the last lap, and Naruto and Sasuke began clapping, followed by Kiba, who finished soon after. I glanced over at them, and they were turned and facing Choji and me, and Shikamaru, who was about twenty feet in front of us. They were cheering us on, motivating us to finish. I picked up my pace, and I pushed my legs - which were beginning to feel like jelly - to carry me farther.

Soon, I was next to Shikamaru, and I began clapping with the guys who had finished. I was still running, and I was still out of breath, but I continued to run, and I continued to cheer through applause. As we neared the other three guys, I followed Shikamaru's lead, slowing down and coming to a walk.

I leaned over and rested my hands on my knees, heaving in and out, trying to restore the normal oxygen content to my body. I was drenched in sweat, and my bangs stuck to my face in a gross manner.

"Grab a drink," Tsunade ordered, "then get back in formation."

OoO

Naruto laid on my bed while I took a shower. He had already gone before me, and I'm pretty certain that he was going to be fast asleep by the time I got done.

If it hadn't been clear enough from the sweat that beaded our skin, practice tonight was rough. Tsunade was in such a foul mood, and even though the guys pushed themselves so hard, it just wasn't good enough today. Practice lasted for three hours, and we didn't get out until nine thirty. By then, nobody wanted to exert any more physical energy; practically all of us were crawling on our hands and knees to the parking lot.

Sasuke ended up taking Naruto and me back to my house, and he dropped us off about an hour ago.

The water on my pale skin felt so warm, and the steam around my naked body hugged my figure tighter than those yoga pants ever could. I could almost feel the gaseous water climbing deep into my pores, opening them up and exposing them to the liquid water.

My hair was heavy, soaking in all the moisture that it possibly could. The conditioner that I lathered in my locks smelled like fresh-picked apples, and I wrapped my hair up tightly, clipping it on the back of my head. The beautiful scent shrouded my senses and took me to a whole different world.

I glanced at the rack that cradled all of my cheap Dollar Store shampoos and soaps, and I noticed Naruto had stuck his own body cleansers there. A tiny grin came onto my face as I looked down at the water running down my body. My right foot touched my left shyly, and my painted toes were peppered with tiny droplets of water.

Naruto and I had been literally inseperable since he saved me from the darkness of my depression. He always stayed the night at my house, we went to practice together, he came to the hospital with me time and time again to visit Neji.

I never realized just how much one person could do for another, and how much that could enhance so greatly feelings toward one another. Naruto and I; we were becoming a couple who genuinely cared for each other. I was so happy; that had been my dream since middle school, and it had finally come true. We always slept, wrapped in the ecstasy of one another's embrace, passing the warmth of body heat back and forth, switching back and forth between exothermic and endothermic systems until both of us reached equilibrium. From there, we slipped into the magical realm of REM, where the laws of physics were optional and nothing was impossible.

I wrapped my hand around the back of my neck, massaging out a kink that had come about from practice tonight. My flesh was soft, and I squeezed my muscle firmly, at first hurting it, but then it succumbed to my touch and unraveled.

I stood there for a moment, staring at the stream of water droplets that trickled down forcefully from my shower faucet. Thinking about everything that had happened this week, I wondered if it was too good to be true. Maybe I had been in the car with my family, and perhaps I was either in heaven, or stuck in a coma in the hospital.

This can't be heaven; if it were heaven, I'd have Naruto without my parents being deceased. He probably wouldn't be sleeping over all the time, had my parents been alive. I ruled out the idea that this was heaven.

_What if I am in a coma?_ I thought to myself and immediately grew terrified that I was, and that Naruto and I never started dating, or even became friends in the first place. This horrified me and brought tears to my eyes. I had come to love Naruto so dearly, even more than I had had before we had begun talking. To give him up now would sever my heart from its aorta, and I would die quickly soon after.

There was a knock on the bathroom door, followed by his golden voice that sang virtuous melodies in my ears.

"Hinata?" he asked, and I turned around in the shower to face the door. I covered my breasts with both hands, despite the fact that the curtains were pulled shut. The door opened, and I heard him step in. "Are you okay? You've been in there for a while."

"I'm okay," I said, blushing at the fact that the only barrier between Naruto's eyes and my naked body was the green shower curtains. A part of me thanked them for being there to guard me, and the other part wanted them to collapse, so that Naruto could see me.

"You're not crying, are you?" he questioned me, and I could almost see his eyebrows crinkle upwards in concern.

"No, I'm okay. Really. I just got lost in thought." I ripped the hair clip out of my hair, and my soaking wet mop flopped down my back. Forcing my head under the drizzle of the shower, I began scrubbing the conditioner out of every strand. "I thought you were asleep," I said to him, and I wondered if he was actually still in the room.

"I dozed off." I heard the sound of the toilet lid groan as he sat down on it, anticipating staying while I finished my shower. I blushed, but I didn't mind him remaining in the bathroom with me. "But then my mom texted me and asked if I was staying over again."

"How does she feel, about you sleeping over with me all the time?" I asked, wondering how lenient Kushina was with her only son.

"I think she's just worried that we're going to jump into some things that we shouldn't." He was beating around the bush, but I knew well enough that he was talking about sex.

"Did you tell her that we decided that we were going to wait?" I asked, twisting my mane and watching some excess suds run down my chest. It was true; while our bodies wanted to devour one another so badly, our minds told us that it would be best for our relationship if we didn't jump into anything like that.

"I'm not going to tell her that," he said, embarrassed. "That's awkward. Would you have ever told your father about our relationship plans?"

While my father was dead and quite possibly could see us right now, the question was hypothetical, and I didn't take any offense to it. But he was right. That would be kind of strange. I knew my father would have murdered Naruto and buried him in the back yard.

"No," I admitted, turning the water off and wringing out my hair. I reached my hand out of the shower and felt around for the towel that I had waiting to be used. It was still warm; it had come out of the dryer.

Naruto and Minato ended up fixing my stairs this afternoon, and I couldn't thank them enough. They had started at the bottom, and they removed every stair and replacing the entire thing. It only took an hour, however I was very grateful to all of the time that they volunteered to put in.

So, I was able to do a load of laundry today, and I had thrown all of the bathroom towels and washcloths in the washing machine. The towel that I dried my face with still smelled like laundry detergent, and the scent made me smile.

I dried off my body until there were no drops running down the surface of my skin, and then I folded my hair and wrapped it up in the thick fabric of the towel, flinging the mass over my head. It was only then that I realized that my clothes were out of my reach - on the bathroom sink. They were out there, along with Naruto, and I was in here, naked.

I heard the toilet creak again, and it signaled to me that Naruto had stood up, and was going to leave the room while I changed. "I'll be in bed," he said, and I kind of hoped that he wouldn't fall asleep without me. If he did, it was okay, though.

The moment I heard the door click shut, I tore open the shower curtains and made my way to my clothes, which were folded up neatly on the sink. I grasped my plaid pajama pants into my hand and stepped into them, then pulled them up to my hips, where they hugged my bones comfortably. The three-quarter-length sleeved shirt that I slipped on was tight around my chest, and it made me self-conscious. What if Naruto could see the contours of my chest?

I prayed that the light in my room was off as I opened the bathroom door and made my way down the hall, breathing a sigh of relief when I looked in to see darkness. Naruto was laying on my bed, being crushed by layers of blankets that I had thrown on my bed the other day. He glanced over when I walked in, and a slight smile creased the sides of his mouth.

I couldn't help but to smile back, and I layed down on my bed, snuggling close to his chest. A single arm wrapped around my shoulders, and then the second one did as she rolled over to look at me. I grinned at him, and I laughed.

My random outburst caused him to repeat my action, and we were laughing together, snuggled in each other's arms. I never felt so warm inside, and I realized that I had never loved someone as much as I love Naruto.

Soon enough, though, our giggles turned into simple breathing, and our breathing faded into soft snores as we simultaneously fell into a blissful slumber.


	15. Chapter 15

_Chapter Fifteen_

The days passed by one by one. I had gone back to school after Thanksgiving break, only to be consoled by everybody, despite the fact that I didn't know most of them. To be honest, I didn't want to be surrounded by all those people. I had clung to Naruto a lot, and he did the same with me. It was soon found out that we were officially a couple, and people stared at us all the time that first week.

But I was happy.

We had most of our classes together, and then we would meet up after school, going to each other's lockers and retrieving any books that we needed for homework. Then we'd go to basketball together, often meeting up with Sasuke or Kiba in the hall.

After one of Coach Tsunade's strenuous workouts, we would get a ride from Sasuke to the hospital, and we would visit Neji until the hospital staff kicked us out at nine. From there, Tenten would drive us back to my house. Naruto would shower first, and I'd get most of my homework done before he got out, and then we would switch.

However, sometimes we would get caught up in a passionate kiss, which could last anywhere from five seconds to fifteen minutes, if we let the time slip our minds. We would always have to forcefully tear ourselves from one another, so that I could get a shower in and he could work on his homework; let's face it, he needed to do it more than I did.

After my shower, we would snuggle together on my bed, so close to one another that no force could rip us apart. Sometimes we would kiss, other times we would talk and laugh.

The days passed by like that, and our routine began to grow on us. I think Naruto's parents were concerned with how much time we've been spending together, and I think they're suspicious of our relationship. Sometimes, Naruto would tell me that we needed to go over to his house and have dinner, just to please his family. I didn't mind; I liked Kushina and Minato, and they were very friendly to me.

Now, winter was setting in, and all I wanted to do was hibernate. I became sad again, and I often curled up in my blanket and cried. I didn't know what to do; I couldn't help missing my parents here with me, and missing Neji being around the house.

I could tell that Naruto was becoming concerned with how I wanted to isolate myself, but he never once left me. He ended up ditching school with me, only to lay at my back and hold me so close as I wept.

It was so hard; I thought that all these terrible feelings were subsiding, and then, out of nowhere, depression scares away my happiness. I didn't want to be sad. I didn't want to cry. I wanted to smile and laugh with Naruto all the time, because he made me so happy. But all that seemed miles away.

Naruto wanted to skip basketball practices, too, but the team came to my house and dragged him away, apologizing to me for stealing my comfort. I didn't entirely mind; I wanted to be alone, and I didn't want to put Naruto in as foul a mood as I was.

When they were gone, I swaddled myself in the comforter on my bed and I bawled the entire time. My knees touched my chest, and my thighs were flat against my stomach. I could feel my heart being torn from my chest again, and the excruciating pain caused me to cry out loud, gasping for air. Nobody was around to hear my screams, so I let all of my woe escape my body.

It felt as if I were being possessed by something, and my possessor was causing me to feel such anguish.

I began sweating, and my mouth grew dry. My head was pounding, and I could feel my brain smashing itself against the inside of my skull. My eyes felt as if they were going to bulge out of their sockets, due to the pressure that continued to add up inside my head. My limbs ached, and my insides burned, as if somebody had set them on fire.

In all honesty, I felt as though I could die. The pain, the heat, everything was becoming too much to handle, and I wanted to let go. But something held onto me, and wouldn't let me go. Some force unknown to me kept my spirit from slipping out of my body, and I didn't know what it was. A part of me wondered if it was Naruto, clinging to me, keeping me attached to mortal life. But then the other part of me had to ponder the fact that it could be my parents, who refused to allow their only daughter to wither away to nothing.

No matter what force it was that kept my spirit and body attached, I could definitely feel it deep within me, and I could feel it tugging on my chest. It lifted me up, and the blanket fell off of my face. I opened my eyes, which were dripping with a constant flow of tears.

I almost screamed for a moment in fear, and in some sort of joy. At the foot of my bed, I saw my mother, who was bending over, her hands resting on my mattress. She looked exactly how I remember her; her long black hair hung down the sides of her face, and she had a mischievous grin on her face. She was wearing her favorite black dress, and the necklace that she always wore - the one my father had given her whenever they were only dating.

The warm moisture that dribbled from my eyes continued onward, but the pain in my body magically came to a halt. I couldn't move, I couldn't speak. I simply sat there in the darkness of my room, staring at the spirit of my mother.

Mom smiled at me warmly. "What are you doing, baby girl?" she asked me, and I couldn't bring myself to answer her. I was in shock, and I wasn't sure if this was just a hallucination caused by the pain, or if I was dreaming. "You're wasting your tears on us, Hinata." As she said this, that smile that I remember never faltered. "You should be out with that boy you like, and you should be enjoying your life."

I could feel my muscles under my skin, jerking towards the image of my mother, but my body never moved an inch.

"I don't know why you're crying," she said. "I was so happy, Hinata."

This confused me. She had been killed in a terrible car accident, and she probably experienced pain far worse than what I was feeling right now.

"I was so happy, because you weren't there. You weren't in that car whenever we were hit. I never would have forgiven myself, had you been hurt like Neji was."

_Mom..._

I wanted her to hold me in her arms like she did whenever I was young and helpless in the world. I wanted her to run her fingers through my hair and tell me that everything was going to be okay. More than anything, I wanted her to come back; I wanted her to live.

"That blonde boy that has stuck to your side like glue, never let him go, Hinata," my mother told me. "He cares about you, more than you could know. And trust me, baby, I know you care so dearly about him. When he gets home, you need to let him know that you love him. If you want something, you've got to take it before someone swoops down and snatches it out of your hands."

So that's where Neji got those words from. I should have known such inspiration would have come from nobody but my mother.

"If you love him like you always told me you did," my mother continued, standing up straight and removing her fingertips from my bedspread, "then make sure he knows it."

_I will._

"And Hinata, always remember that no matter what happens to you in this life, your father and I will always love you, and we are so proud of the beautiful woman you are becoming."

I knew that she was preparing to leave, despite the fact that she had not been here more than five minutes, and I have yet to say a word to her. I couldn't speak. None of my muscles could move, despite the fact that I strenuously begged them to.

My mother smiled one of those eye-squinting, ear-to-ear grins - the ones that remind me of Naruto - and revolved around in a one hundred eighty degree angle. And then, she vanished.

The moment her body disappeared, I was released, and a choking inhale suffocated my lungs. I could move my muscles now, but I had not yet been granted with the power to stop myself from crying like a child.

I heard my back door open, and I could tell by the footsteps that it was Naruto, returning to me from basketball practice. I could hear a sigh that was still concerned for my emotional well-being.

_"Never let him go, Hinata,"_ my mother's voice echoed in my head, and I turned my eyes to my hands, that were squeezed so tightly. _"If you love him like you always told me you did, then make sure he knows it."_

_Okay, Mom._

I jumped out of bed, quickly kicking my feet out of the prison of my sheets. The moment my feet touched the sub-zero floorboards, I was running, and I sprinted out of my room and down the hall. I took each of the stairs by twos, and I could hear Naruto racing towards me, probably wondering if something was wrong, or if I had gone mad.

When we collided, I smashed my lips to his and wrapped my legs around his waist, almost like some of the trust-jumps that I see the cheerleaders do. While I was terrified that Naruto had been caught off guard and that he wouldn't be able to hold me up, my fears were for nothing. He cradled me in his protective arms, and he squeezed me tightly.

_"When he gets home, you need to let him know you love him."_

I broke our kiss, disengaging my lips from his as I prepared to tell him exactly how I felt. But once I took a breath in to actually say it, I couldn't do it. I got nervous, and my blood began to boil under my cheeks. I felt as though I might vomit; I was terrified to let him know how much I truly loved him.

I couldn't say it.

"Hinata, what's happening?" Naruto asked, confused. "I mean, I'm not arguing, but what happened? You were falling apart when I was dragged away two hours ago."

"I think," I began, closing my eyes for only a moment before turning their gaze into Naruto's giant, glimmering sapphires. Even in the darkness in my house, I could see him well enough to know that he was the most beautiful person I had ever seen in my life. "I think I'll be okay now," I said and released the hold that my thighs had on his hips.

I could have hit myself for not being able to tell him that I loved him. At that moment, I was so ready to say it, those three little words that had so much impact on a life. But I was so afraid. What if he wasn't ready to hear that, and I only forced him to retreat from our relationship.

Naruto pecked my lips, quickly but tenderly. "I'm so happy to hear that, Hinata." He smiled warmly and affectionately at me, and I felt my heart pound. "I need to take a shower. You don't have to wait up for me if you're tired."

I pressed my lips to his once, and then held him close only for a moment, taking a breath of him in. I felt safe around Naruto, and I feel as though nothing can physically hurt me when he is at my side. Squeezing him tenderly only for an elongated second was completely heart-throbbing. I released him, and I smiled.

"I'll try not to fall asleep."

To be honest, despite the fact that I had been sleeping through most of the day the past week or so, I still felt tired. Like, exhausted tired. But I wanted to stay up and wait for Naruto, because I wanted to snuggle close to him and talk to him.

Naruto pecked my lips one final time before stumbling up the stairs. "Be done in a flash!" He said, giving me the same grin that my mother's spirit had showed me before departing from my room. At this, my heart warmed. I really wasn't alone.

I took a sigh of relief at this idea, and I moved myself into the kitchen, where I prowled around, searching in the cabinets for something to eat. I realized that my house was very low on food; most of the pantries were barren, and the refrigerator was depleted. My stomach growled, screaming at me for my inconsiderate actions toward it. I haven't gotten any insurance checks in the mail yet - Neji said they would come - and I haven't been able to work that many hours because of school, basketball, and visiting Neji in the hospital.

I'm surprised my manager hasn't referred me to the boss for being pretty much a useless employee. I mean, it wasn't entirely my fault, even though I take full responsibility, because I choose to visit my cousin in the hospital, rather than work at a bookstore.

On the days that Naruto worked, he told me that he explained to our manager the situation, and that he would cover both of our shifts. The manager, Kabuto, said that as long as all the work gets done, he doesn't mind turning his head for a few weeks. I was so grateful, to both of them. Naruto had to work twice as hard for the same pay that he had been receiving, because he gave the money from my shift to me.

I would have to go out to the grocery store tomorrow, or else I would probably die of starvation. Turning around swiftly, I moved in the direction of the stairs, ascending them quickly, and pacing towards my room. Turning into it, I flicked on the light and made my way to my closet. Opening it up, I fell to my knees and reached into a pair of boots that Sakura had bought me. Feeling around, I grasped a stack of thin paper and yanked it out.

Looking at the wad, I wondered how much I had saved, and I unfolded it and began counting.

Twenty, forty, sixty, sixty five, sixty six, sixty seven.

I wasn't confident that sixty seven dollars would replenish all of the food that used to occupy my house, but I had to start somewhere. It was sad, though, having to spend all of your hard earn money on groceries needed for survival.

Oh well. Life goes on.

I heard the faucet of my shower squeal under the touch of Naruto's muscular hand, and the water that pattered down on the shower floor stopped. Sitting there for a moment, I listened to the shower curtains cry out as they were pushed out of the way, and suddenly the mental image of Naruto's naked body glimmering with droplets of water appeared in my head.

I bit my lip at the thought, and I wondered how weird I was to be thinking about this. I shook my head, trying to remove him from my mind.

"Is something wrong?" Naruto asked, and I turned to look over my shoulder at him. His hair was a blonde mess - a mop on top of his head - and his chest was bare. I could have swooned right then and there.

"No," I said, turning my attention back to the money that I had laying on the floor in front of me. "I'm just trying to figure out what kind of food I can buy with sixty seven dollars. But everything is so expensive nowadays."

"Why didn't you just say something?" Naruto asked, covering the distance between us and sitting down next to me. The smell of his body wash intoxicated me, and my nose moved my head to face in his direction. "I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind helping you out."

"Because your parents have been doing so much for me. You've been doing so much for me. Sakura and Sasuke have been doing so much for me." I broke the olfactory hypnotism and turned my eyes back to the cash on the floor. "I need to do something on my own."

Naruto, I could see out of my peripherals, was staring at me with soft eyes, probably wondering if I was really going to be financially okay. I was just asking myself the exact same thing. I was scraping the bottom of the barrel just to scrounge up enough money for a week's worth of food. How was I going to pay for electricity and gas and plumbing?

I wished Neji was here. He would be able to tell me exactly what to do, and plus he would be able to give me a helping hand. I hoped that he would be able to leave the hospital soon; I'd love to have him back home with me.

There was a loud knock at my back door, and I shot up off of my knees, taking my time to leave my room and stroll down the hall. Naruto followed me, and we trotted down the stairs. I didn't really know who would bother coming over at this time of night, so I was naturally curious.

When I turned the corner, I saw Sakura outside my door, without Sasuke at her hip. Her eyes were red and puffy, and I almost stopped dead in my tracks.

_Did they break up?_

"Sakura?" My feet below me moved rapidly into the kitchen and around the table. I grasped the doorknob and unlocked it brutally before swinging the door open. When it was open, Sakura merely stood there, huddled in a jacket with her purse under her arm. Her hair wasn't as perfect as it always was, and it looked as if she had been grasping it before she came here. Her skin was pale white, and under her eyes were dark. It looked as if she had been lacking sufficient sleep. "Sakura, what's wrong?" I asked, even though I really didn't want to hear her say the words.

I loved Sasuke and Sakura, as a couple as well as individual people. I didn't want to think of them as through, and I was terrified, not wanting to hear what had happened between the two of them. I looked up to them, and I didn't want them to fall apart.

I bit the insides of my cheeks as Sakura's emerald eyes bore into mine in despair. Bracing myself, I gave her my full, undivided attention.

"Hinata," she whimpered, and I could feel my chest tearing for her loss. My facial muscles hurt so bad as I tried to keep in the tears, finally with success. Sakura tightened the grip of her hands on the strap of her leather purse, trying to find the courage to say it. But she continued to look at me, staring deep into me.

"Sakura?" I asked, wanting to take a step towards her, but my feet didn't move an inch. They were planted, and refused to go anywhere. Sakura took in a single deep breath before blurting out what it was that she needed to say.

"I think I might be pregnant."


	16. Chapter 16

_Chapter Sixteen_

"Hinata," Sakura took in a deep breath, and I waited for her to tell me the news on her relationship with Sasuke. "I think I might be pregnant."

Some unknown force slapped me in the face, and I was immediately shocked. Well...that was an outcome that I certainly wasn't thinking of. However, judging on the things that Naruto has told me about their relationship, it surprises me that this hasn't happened sooner.

Still, I couldn't help but to have sympathy for my friend.

"Have you taken a pregnancy test, yet?" I asked her as I reached out and grabbed her hand in order to pull her into my house. Her skin was freezing cold, and it seemed to have lost most of its moisture due to the dry bitterness of the winter air. Sakura was in hysteria, her entire body trembling and moisture dripping from her eyes.

"No," she choked out. "I bought one, but I'm too scared to take it."

My eyebrows pulled together as I felt her fear radiate off of her body and settle onto mine. I heard Naruto behind me catch his breath, and I turned to look at him over my shoulder. He wore the same expression that I did.

"Sakura," I said softly - even more quietly than my voice normally is - and held her forearms, "you need to take that test, because you might be getting worked up over nothing."

"Will you stay with me?" she asked me, and there was no possible way I could ever refuse her; not after everything she had done for me in the past. I forced a difficult smile and brushed her hair out of her face.

"Do whatever you need to do to take the test, and I'll wait with you."

Sakura nodded, and I turned around with a single hand on her back, leading her out of the kitchen and to the staircase. I happened to exchange a concerned glance with Naruto, who followed us, but stayed downstairs. Instead of stalking up the stairs to sit in my room, he moved to the right and plopped down on the sofa.

I showed Sakura up the stairs and to the first door on the left, where we parted and she shut the bathroom door, cutting us off. I stepped backwards, leaning against the wall, pressing my fingertips to the chilly plaster. My eyes turned to the ceiling, and I prayed that Sakura wasn't going to be having a baby. I doubted that she nor Sasuke was ready to have a child right now; they're on their senior year of high school, and college comes after this.

If Sakura is pregnant now, she won't be able to go to college. She'll be stuck with a job that she shouldn't have had for at least seven more years. Her life was just getting started, and then this comes down upon her.

And what about Sasuke? If Sakura does turn out to be pregnant, how will he deal with it? I know a lot of times, whenever there is an unplanned pregnancy between unwed couples, - especially teenagers - the man doesn't always stay around to help. Would Sasuke do that? Would he abandon Sakura if this test does turn out positive?

I took in a deep breath, closing my eyes for a moment to calm myself. We weren't even sure yet if she is or isn't with child, so we were crying over spilled milk right now. Still, I found my hands clenching at the wall, and my heart beat rapidly with anticipation.

"Hinata," Sakura said my name from inside the bathroom, and my eyes darted to the door that didn't open. "I'm done taking the test."

I nodded once before taking a single step towards the bathroom door and grasping the old doorknob that granted me access to the room. When I opened it, I saw Sakura sitting on the lid of the toilet, a single hand grasping her hair, and the pregnancy test stick was in her left hand. She was breathing hard in anxiety, and I moved to the toilet and sat down on her right side, placing my backside on the edge of the tub.

In order to silently tell Sakura that she was not alone, - that I was going to be there for her whether the test turned up positive or negative - I took her right hand in mine and entwined my fingers with hers. I let her squeeze my hand so hard that her wrist began to tremble. Biting my lip, I kept my eyes on the stick in her hand, and I continued to pray that she wasn't pregnant.

The tub below the back of my thighs was still warm from Naruto's shower, and it sent warm shivers up and down my spine. I noticed Sakura's feet pointing towards one another as she grew more and more nervous.

Never once, though, did our focus leave that stick. I wasn't entirely sure what was supposed to happen to the circle and the little rectangle on its face, but I think that Sakura already knew what it would do in either case.

The air around us was completely silent as we sat there in each other's hands, waiting as patiently as possible for the test results to come to us.

My hand began to ache from clenching and being clenched. I felt that the metacarpals beneath my flesh were starting to compress and become distorted, but I didn't let that falter my hold on Sakura's hand. She was my friend, and I was going to stay here and hold her hand no matter what.

I closed my eyes and breathed, trying to tell myself that it would be okay, that we had nothing to worry about. Sakura wasn't pregnant. All I had to do was use positive psychological reinforcement. If you tell yourself something over and over again, it's bound to happen, right?

_She's not pregnant,_ I told myself, taking a deep breath inwards.

I could feel her grip on my hand tighten even more, suffocating my bones, and I could just imagine the bruise I would have tomorrow.

_We're just worrying over nothing._

I could feel her whole hand begin to quiver, and I let out my breath, but I didn't open my eyes. I had to continue to let myself know that everything was going to be okay. There was going to be no positive pregnancy stick in my bathroom trashcan by the end of the night.

_She's not pregnant._

All of a sudden, the tension on my hand was released, and I could almost feel my bones shifting back into place. This caused me to open my eyes, and I glanced at the pregnancy stick in Sakura's hand. There, in both the circle and the rectangle, sat a blue sliver of a line. I didn't know what that meant, but after what happened next, it was obvious.

Sakura let out a hard cry and she fell off of the toilet seat, landing on her knees on the tiles of my bathroom floor. I followed her, catching her with a single arm under her torso. When it settled into my brain what exactly those two little lines meant, I wrapped my free arm over her back and locked my fingers together at her opposing side.

I heard Naruto run up the steps quickly to investigate the cause of the noise in the bathroom, and I glanced up whenever his figure showed itself in the doorway. We met, eye to eye, and exchanged a glance of sympathy for Sakura, who had fallen from grace and shattered on my bathroom floor.

"Sakura," I whispered, my voice quivering as I began to weep for her. I curled myself closer to her and held her as she bawled.

"Hinata," she asphyxiated on her words, "what am I going to do?"

I sniffed once and wiped my eyes quickly, attempting to calm myself so that Sakura might do the same. "You need to tell Sasuke," I told her, and she turned her runny emerald eyes to me, the terror evident in their depths. I could tell that she was going to deny my advice, and I shook my head at her. "You have to. This is something you can't keep from him. He's just as responsible as you are."

Sakura's head whipped back and forth, and she dropped the pregnancy test on the floor and grasped the hair above her temples. "I can't!" she howled. "What if he doesn't want me anymore?"

"Then dishonor on him." Naruto spoke up, and both of us turned our eyes to him. I don't know about Sakura, but I could literally see the fumes steaming off of his skin as the thought trickled throughout his brain.

"Have faith in Sasuke." I turned my attention back to Sakura, who stared at me with a dead stare. "You guys have been together for over two years. There has to be something deep there, right?" I said, hoping that it would help Sakura gain enough confidence to tell Sasuke about the life they had created.

I never thought this would happen; I mean, _me_ trying to build _Sakura's_ confidence? That certainly stunned me for a few seconds.

"I need to tell him in person," Sakura said, and I completely agreed with her. This was a touchy topic that needed two people to sit down and discuss responsibly, face to face. "But he left with his brother to visit a sick relative. He won't be home until tomorrow late at night."

"Then tell him whenever he gets back," I said. "He deserves to know exactly what's happening here."

The three of us were quiet for a minute while Sakura chucked the cursed pregnancy stick in the trash can forcefully. I could tell that, deep down, she wanted to scream. Judging by the resentment on her face, I knew that she blamed herself for the whole situation, despite the fact that it took two people to make this life. The blame shouldn't fall on just Sakura. But modern society, I knew, was cruel, and would blame her the most.

"Hinata?" Sakura said in a small voice, reminding myself of me. "I don't want to be alone. Can I stay here tonight?"

I looked deep into Sakura's dreadful eyes, and I felt her pain steam off of her and enter my body. It hurt so badly, and I knew that there was no way I could refuse, leaving her in such a state to fend for herself. Not after everything she has done for me. I mean, she was the reason Naruto began talking to me in the first place; she was the one who had locked us in the storage closet on that very first night. She made me feel comfortable in my own skin. She was the one who continued time and time again to cheer me on as I began growing close to Naruto.

I could never say no to Sakura. I owed her too much.

"Of course you can," I said smalley and nodded at her. The next thing I knew, I was being embraced by a tender hug from Sakura. I was caught completely off-guard, but I didn't argue. I constricted ginger arms around her and her fingers formed claws that gripped my back tightly.

I left Sakura in my bathroom to take a shower, because truly, she was a train wreck. I think she needed to bathe and clear her head, if only for a moment or so. Naruto and I moved into my bedroom and began collecting the pillows and sheets from off of my bed. We were planning to sleep downstairs with her, because there was barely enough space on my bed for Naruto and me. If we had invited her into the bed, someone would end up on the floor.

"How do you think Sasuke will take the news?" I asked as Naruto began balling up my blankets into one mass of fabric. The side of his mouth twitched.

"I have faith in Sasuke," Naruto said almost coldly, and I wondered whether or not his supposed faith was faltering. "He wouldn't leave someone to deal with a mess that he created."

I sighed and glanced down at my hands, which cradled the only two pillows on my bed. "I just hope you're right."

Together, we marched out of my room and took our time moving through the hall. I led the way down the stairs, because despite the fact that I couldn't see my feet, I knew my house like the back of my hand.

Naruto was abnormally quiet, and I wondered if something was eating him. I couldn't tell if he was angry or upset, or if he was just in a bad mood. We reached the base of the stairs and stayed true until we reached the two sofas in the main room.

My house wasn't spectacular; it was nothing compared to Sasuke's house. The furniture in my living room was cheap, because one of my father's friends had given them to him for two hundred dollars total whenever the friend moved out of his apartment. That was right after Dad had lost his job. Since then, we had made sure that they were kept in a decent condition, because we couldn't afford to buy new furniture.

When we reached my old blue couches, Naruto and I dropped the luggage from my bed onto the one parallel to the staircase. I turned to him as soon as I had let the pillows fall from my arms.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, and I prayed that he wouldn't tell me that everything was okay, because it wasn't. That much was evident. Naruto let out a heated sigh from his nostrils, and he placed his hands on his hips, turning his gaze away from me.

"I'm scared for us," he said softly and let his eyes plummet to the floorboards beneath us. My eyebrows pulled together, trying to make sense of what he was saying, but I just couldn't comprehend. "I can't help but wonder, what happens if we accidently go too far, and the same thing happens to you?"

I had to stop and think for a minute on what he was saying. It took a few moments for me to really comprehend the message he was trying to get across. "How would we accidently have sex?" I asked, and it felt completely strange saying it like that, but beating around the bush in this conversation was going to get us nowhere.

"Y'know..." he blushed and put his hand to his face, trying to figure out how to say was he needed to. "...sometimes we get really passionate and become absorbed in each other. What if one night, we just get too intense, and we don't stop?"

I think I was starting to understand his logic. But our self control has been pretty good, and his control was phenomenal. It was only that one night that he had lost authority over his body, and it reacted to the heated atmosphere of the room.

"I mean, if something like that did happen between us, I wouldn't abandon you if I got you pregnant. But it still worries me a little."

I bit my lip, a little nervous that we were actually having this conversation. I think that he felt the same way, but it seemed as though it had to be talked about.

"Would it make you feel better if we...y'know..." Why was this so hard to say? I never dreamed of having a conversation like this, and especially with the person who excited me the most. "...kept protection around the house?"

Naruto turned his ocean eyes back to me as I said it, and even though my face was flushed with blood under my skin, I didn't look away. I was serious about this. If having them around the house would make him feel better, I would pick them up tomorrow when I went to the grocery store.

"You mean keep..." I let out an internal sigh of relief; it wasn't just me who had difficulty saying the word whenever it actually applied to our relationship. "...keep condoms in the house?"

I shrugged. "If it will make you feel safer, why not?" I asked him, folding my hands behind my back. "I mean, just because they're here doesn't mean we have to use them."

"But wouldn't that be pointless to have them just laying around the house?"

"Is it pointless to keep a fire extinguisher in the house in case of a fire?" I asked, because the comparison was true. I don't think I had ever seen a house that didn't have some sort of fire extinguisher inside. They were precautionary, but having them probably eased many people's concerns.

Naruto stared me in the eye, with a countenance of tender love and deep concern for what would be in store for our relationship. "Do you think we should do that?"

"To be completely honest," I held his hands in mine affectionately and held his eyes by a theoretical thread, "I'm not concerned with this. I trust you." Using the muscles in my feet, I pushed myself up onto my tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "But if it will give you some peace of mind, I will pick them up tomorrow."

An expression of deep thought was painted onto Naruto's face as he had found himself stuck in a forked road of decision.

"I don't want to say yes, because I don't want you to think I'm being pushy and am ready to take that kind of step," he began thinking out loud, and I listened to his argument. "But I don't want to say no, because what happens if we do take it all the way?"

A slight chuckle came out of my throat and I patted Naruto's bare chest. "I'll pick up a box," I told him. "My opinion of you remains the same." As if there were some kind of molecular attraction between our lips, mine were drawn to his and they cradled one another passionately.

Our bodies collapsed on the couch, and Naruto was constricted in between my thighs. He didn't seem to mind being held close to my body, and his hand gripped my hip with just enough force to make my stomach jump.

"I felt that," Naruto said, and I didn't know what exactly he was talking about. "You're stomach just had a massive twitch."

With those words, we burst out laughing. He moved to squeeze in between my left hip and the back of the sofa, but his hold on me never faltered. I let out a breath as the weight of him was removed from my gut, and I could laugh freely. His far arm was wrapped under my back, caressed by the natural curve of my spine. The hand closest to the edge of the couch - his left hand - held the back of my right shoulder, clasping to my right scapula.

These were the moments, I believe, that I liked best. While I did completely love kissing Naruto and feeling the heat of a thousand burning suns, I felt that we were the most comfortable with one another when we were wrapped in one another's arms, giggling together in beautiful unison.

"Naruto," I spoke softly, becoming completely serious for a moment, and though he stopped cackling, he still wore a gorgeous smile on his face. Yes, I was sure about this. I wanted to share it with him, that big step.

Whenever I hesitated to say something, Naruto's grin faded and he examined me with perplex. "Hinata?" The worry in his eyes reinforced the fact that I needed to do this. I cared about him so much, and I was ready for this. I smiled at him and ran my fingers through his thick mop of luscious, blonde spikes.

"I love you, Naruto," I confessed, and I was fearful for a moment, afraid that he was going to get up and leave. But that pulchritudinous grin returned to his face and he extended his neck upwards towards me, just enough to where he could plant a soft kiss upon my lips.

"I love you too, Hinata," he murmured softly at my ear before kissing my jaw. "I love you so much."


	17. Chapter 17

_Chapter Seventeen_

When I woke up, I found my back stiff from being scrunched up and sharing a couch with Naruto. I feel as though I squished him, because he was crushed against my back and the back of the couch. He woke up about the same time as I did, and he didn't seem to complain. When we did regain consciousness, our gazes struck, and we grinned at one another, kissing each other good morning.

My gaze soon after turned to the other couch, where Sakura was curled up under three blankets, her cell phone right by her face. My eyes dropped to the floor, still a little scared about how Sasuke might react to the news. I wanted so desperately to have faith in him, that he would own up to his mistake and take responsibility for the child that is now growing inside of Sakura's young body. But nothing was certain.

"Don't worry," Naruto said to me under his breath, and I turned my eyes to him. He rotated his whole body, forming a circle around my body with his legs. "Sasuke would never abandon Sakura like that. No way. He's not like that."

I shook my head, still concerned. "I just hope you're right." I began moving, kicking my legs over his and touching my socked feet to the floor. Naruto's eyes stuck to me like glue as I stood up, completely removing myself from the sofa, and I reached up high above my head. My vertebral canal realigned itself as I stretched as far as I could.

"It's Sunday morning," Naruto said as I reached down to touch my toes. "Why are you getting up?"

I rotated each of my ankles, causing them to crack. "I have to go to the grocery store today," I told him, much to both of our dismay. "If I don't go today, then the house will be devoid of food, and we'll all starve to death."

_We all might starve to death, _I thought as I folded my hands behind my back shyly. _With only sixty seven dollars, what can I buy that would last us for a little while?_

I didn't know how much longer I'd be able to live here. I could barely afford food. Rent and all the necessary bills were out of the question. I continued to wait patiently for the insurance check that Neji said would be coming, but it still never showed up in my mailbox. I began to worry that it might not come at all.

I marched up my stairs and paced in a B-line towards my bedroom, and once inside, I immediately went for my closet. I yanked out a long sleeved T-shirt and a pair of jeans and tossed them on my half-naked bed. I glanced in the mirror on my wall, and I pushed my bangs out of my face only for a moment while I thought about all the conflicts that were striking me.

My financial struggle was a major issue, because if I couldn't pay the bills or the rent, the landlord would definitely evict me.

Sakura's pregnancy definitely took me by surprise, but I was willing to help her out in any way that I could.

Neji was still in the hospital, recovering, thankfully. However, the issue of the hospital bill came to mind, and I didn't know how exactly I was going to pay for that, either.

Working part-time - or Naruto taking my shift - just wasn't covering it anymore. Between school and basketball practice, plus visiting Neji, I barely had time to do anything. Naruto and I hardly got to go out anywhere. We would always just come home after visiting my cousin, take turns using the shower, and then we would get settled for bed.

I glanced at the boot that held my sixty seven dollars and I breathed a heavy sigh. Knowing well enough that I would have to make some sacrifices somewhere, I began to think about how I was going to make this work. At the same time, I tore my nightshirt up over my head and tossed it aside. Reaching for a bra in my closet, I snatched a solid black one and shoved my arms through the straps before hooking it at my back.

I'd probably have to pick up more hours at the bookstore, and if I couldn't do that, then I'd have to find a second part-time job. But that still didn't solve the problem about not having any time to work.

I slipped on the black, form-fitting long sleeved shirt and tugged it down so that it rested at my hips.

In order to find more time for more hours, I would probably have to quit being the manager of the guys basketball team. But then I would have to tell them all why I was quitting - I'd have to tell Naruto why I was quitting. I knew that if he found out about how badly I was struggling for money, he'd concern himself over it way too much, and I couldn't have that. Really, I didn't want anybody to be concerned about me, but I knew that would be too much to ask.

But when the time comes and I do get evicted from my house, I don't know where I would go. I certainly don't want to impose on anybody, or have anybody take care of me. At the same time, I couldn't afford to rent anything larger than a small shack.

I slipped off my sweatpants and and grasped a pair of blue cotton underwear, stepping into them and tugging them up to the bottom of my hips. After securing them, I slipped on my jeans and buttoned them.

I sat down on my bed and took a breather. While I knew I had so many problems that I personally had to face head on and deal with, I couldn't help being concerned the most with what was going to happen with Sakura and Sasuke. I mean, they were going to be parents before Halloween next year.

The only saving grace in this picture is the fact that Sakura will still be able to graduate with our class. She'd be able to walk with us, and get her diploma in front of a giant crowd.

But it was still unfortunate that it had to be this way. However, consequences are consequences, and I could only hope that Sasuke would take equal responsibility for the pregnancy. I mean, it wasn't like Sakura achieved this condition by herself.

"Oh man," I whispered to myself and shut my eyes, only for a moment. While they were closed, I couldn't help but to think about what Naruto was concerning himself over last night.

I didn't really know where the idea had come from, but all of a sudden, he was afraid of us accidentally having sex, and me becoming pregnant, like Sakura. Though the topic wasn't funny, I couldn't help chuckling to myself over his concern. Whether he knew it or not, I trusted him completely, and I knew that he would take care of me, no matter what. I believed that, one day, if we did ever conceive a child together, Naruto would make a great father. I believed that he would be like his own father, filled with love for both his child and its mother.

I was almost lost in a daydream whenever Naruto knocked on my door. He didn't look in, and I appreciated the gesture.

"I'm dressed," I told him, and he came in, his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants. Our gazes were locked, never broken once while he came towards me.

"My mom called," he said and stood before me, towering over me. "She wants me to spend the day at home. Do you want to come?"

_I do._ I so wanted to say, but there were other things I had to deal with today. Plus, I doubt he wanted to keep Sakura at his house, with her constantly panicking about what Sasuke will do.

I shook my head at him and bit the inside of my cheek. "I'd love to, more than anything else," I told him, "but today I have to get things done. I need to go to the store, and I need to keep Sakura's mind off of the current situation. I'll probably end up going to the hospital to visit Neji again today."

Naruto's face dropped, but I knew that he understood. I mean, while we were both crazy about each other, it was probably good for us to spend a day apart. It would be difficult, given the fact that we've been inseparable ever since Naruto saved me from the darkness of my consuming depression. That was almost a month ago, but I think we had both become accustomed to practically living together.

"It'll be okay. You go be with your parents today, and I'll stick with Sakura."

Naruto's eyes flickered as the thought of Sakura and Sasuke was planted back in his head. "Let me know how that goes, okay?"

I nodded once, and then I placed my hands on Naruto's hips, holding him for a minute. He placed his knees on the edge of my bed, and he held my jaw with a single hand, kissing my lips sweetly. I could have melted in his grasp, and I know my heart did in my chest. Every time he kissed me, I felt as though I died a little death. I wonder how many lives I had?

"What time are you going to the store?" Naruto asked, moving his straddle off of my lap and plopping down on my bed. I flopped backwards, laying down and placing my hands across my naval. Naruto rolled over onto his left hip and watched me. I turned my eyes to him tenderly.

"I'll probably go after Sakura wakes up. I don't want to leave her alone."

"Yeah," Naruto sighed, "that's probably for the best."

There were footsteps coming up the stairs, and I knew immediately that Sakura was awake and coming up to find Naruto and me. Judging by the way her feet hit the floor, I could tell she was hesitant, as if she thought she was going to be interrupting something.

Naruto placed his hand on mine and intertwined his muscular fingers with my fragile ones. My eyes flickered to his, and we smiled at one another tenderly, only for a moment, until Sakura walked in.

Both of us turned to look at her, and she still looked like a wreck, despite the fact that she had gotten sleep last night. One wouldn't think she had gotten sleep, though, just by looking at her physical appearance. Her cheeks were puffy from all the tears last night, and she had bags under her eyes. Her pink hair was a mess, tangled around itself and sticking to her skin.

Honestly, I had never seen Sakura in such a low state. Always, she had herself well-composed and very put together. She always carried herself like a true woman who was completely comfortable in her own body, and who knew that she was beautiful. She was always like that.

But now, it all changed, and she had fallen downhill. Was it Sasuke that had made her so confident in herself? No, it couldn't be, because she had made that bold move at the homecoming game sophomore year. What changed?

"Hi, Sakura." I sat up and put on a brave face for my dear friend, who struggled to look at me. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you." I could tell that she was lying, only to save me some heartache. But the ache continued to come either way.

"Naruto has to go to his house today," I explained to her shyly. "I have to go to the store and then visit my cousin in the hospital. Do you want to come with me?" I hoped she would say yes, because it would help ease her mind off of the anxiety of waiting for Sasuke to return home.

"That's fine," she said, and looked down at the clothes that I had lent her last night for sleep. Then, her gaze fell upon the small mound of clothes that she had placed in the corner of my room after her shower last night.

"If you need clothes," I said to her, and her weak gaze returned to me, "you can wear anything in my closet."

"Thank you," she said, and glanced at my closet, skimming through the colors that inhabited it. Of course, they were all cool colors, or neutral.

"You can change in here," I told her and stood up quickly, grabbing Naruto's hand and pulling him along, leading him out of my room. "Take your time, Sakura."

I closed the door, cutting myself off from Sakura, who I allowed to have free reign over my wardrobe. After all, it was thanks to her and Sasuke that I even had such a variety of clothes, rather than my same sweatshirt and single pair of jeans.

It was difficult to see Sakura in the state she was in. I mean, I was completely accustomed to the Sakura that knew exactly what she was doing, and she didn't take orders from other people. I liked that Sakura, because it reminded me of the person I wanted to be.

However, because of the physical status of her and Sasuke's relationship, she was now crushed under the weight of being a teenage parent.

I breathed out heavily, and Naruto wrapped his arms around my waist, linking his fingers together at my stomach. He rested his chin on my shoulder, and I pressed the side of my face to his, immediately falling into a small state of sadness for having to be apart from him today. While I knew I would get through it, it didn't make the day any easier.

OoO

Sakura accompanied me while I went to the grocery store. She didn't notice me counting up every penny, because I could not exceed sixty seven dollars. In my cart, by the time we were done, there was hardly anything covering its bottom. The most expensive thing was that stupid box of condoms, which I wasn't even sure were going to get used.

However, whenever I had tossed them in the cart, I had gotten a strange glance from Sakura, and I had nervously explained myself to her, about how Naruto felt, and what he was afraid of. I could tell that she didn't entirely believe me, and I think it may have been due to my embarrassed stuttering and immediate blushing.

For a moment, I believe, Sakura was disappointed at me. She believed that Naruto and I were planning to start a sexual relationship, right when she found out the result of her own. I believe that she was rightfully angry, even though this wasn't the case. These were only to ease Naruto's fear of us getting too passionate in the heat of our love. Ultimately, they were to protect against what Sakura was going through.

But even still; one box cost about ten dollars, which left me with fifty seven dollars for food. I could have fallen to my knees and screamed at the sky right now.

We left the store with only two plastic bags-worth of groceries, and I tossed them carefully into the back of Sakura's car. There was nothing perishable in those practically-empty bags; I bought mostly cheap soups and a few packs of low-priced ramen. I had to stretch my money as far as it could go, and I could have worked up a sweat trying to do so.

Immediately after, she took me over to the hospital, where I walked the path leading to Neji's room in the critical care unit. Sakura stalked close behind me, looking around at the job that she was never going to have.

_That's right_, I thought, remembering something about Sakura that I had forgotten. _She wanted to be a nurse._ I felt for her, because to have a dream flushed away as if it were nothing is one of the worst feelings. Each day that the insurance check never came, my dream of attending college was diminishing.

Whenever I saw Neji, I could have cried. He was sitting upright, talking with Tenten, who sat so close to his bedside, stroking his hand. The metal rods that had been sticking out of his ribcage were no longer there, and I presumed that the bones in that area had healed.

I was so happy.

I never realized until today how close to Tenten I had become. Because of Neji being in the hospital, we both ended up seeing each other a lot of the time, and we quickly became friends.

The three of us talked with one another, smiling and laughing as if the setting before us was no longer present. Sakura joined in with us, trying so hard not to bring the life in the room down to a flatline, and I appreciated her efforts.

The three of us stayed with Neji for the rest of the day, until we were kicked out at nine at night. That was the same routine over and over again, and now the nurses didn't even have to tell us to leave. Once it neared nine o'clock, Tenten and I would begin gathering our belongings and putting on our jackets in preparation to meet the cruel winter air.

Before leaving, I kissed Neji goodnight on the cheek, and Tenten did the same, only she exchanged her gesture upon his lips. And then, at exactly nine o'clock, Tenten, Sakura and I removed ourselves from Neji's room and walked out together.

Sakura drove me back to my house and she parked along the street, coming inside with me. Sasuke still wasn't back home yet, and she was going to wait here with me until he was home. Until then, I warmed up a can of Italian wedding soup for the both of us to share.

The time passed by slowly and I was growing rather tired by the time Sakura stood up, her eyes glued to her cell phone's screen. I was half asleep on my couch when this happened, and her sudden movements caused my eyes to turn to her.

I glanced at the time on the clock; two in the morning.

I was too tired to argue with the time of day, and so I stood up with her and led her to the back door, wishing her luck. I told her to come back to my house if she needed to, that I would leave the back door unlocked for her. She nodded and thanked me for everything I had done for her over the past twenty-four hours.

"It's no problem," I said to her genuinely. "After everything you've done for me, it was the least I could do." Sakura embraced me in a tight hug that lasted only a second, but the appreciation was definitely there. "Besides, we're friends, and that's what friends do for each other." I smiled at Sakura, my friend, and she returned the warm token of appreciation.

"I'm glad we're friends," she said before turning to walk out the back door. The moment the door shut, I dragged my heavy feet over to the couch and collapsed, face first, onto its surface. I think that I was unconscious before I even hit the sofa.

OoO

It felt as if I had just shut my eyes, and already I was opening them back up as I reacted to the sound of footsteps in my house. I sprang up whenever I heard somebody in my house, sniffling and crying. At first, I glanced to the other couch, but I didn't see anybody there. As my senses came to and became sharper as I drifted into consciousness. My eyes adjusted to the darkness, and I made out a body on my staircase.

I had to look at the person for a moment or so, but then the darkened physical appearance clicked inside my head.

"Sakura?" I called out her name and moved off of the couch, taking quick steps towards my friend. Sakura was sitting on my stairs with her head in between her knees. "Sakura, what happened?"

Sakura breathed hard, gasping for the air that she lacked in her lungs.

"I went over to Sasuke's house," she explained to me in hysterics, her entire body trembling. "And I told him that I was pregnant, and he..." She completely lost it, and the only thing I could do was sit with her and constrict warm and comforting arms around her. I could feel myself on the verge of tears, too, and I tried so hard to fight them off so that I could put on a strong mask for Sakura. My heart trembled almost as badly as her muscles were.

I wasn't sure what time it was, or how long we sat there in each other's arms. But now, none of that mattered.

"Hinata," Sakura sobbed, completely shattering into fragments of herself. She squeezed my hand as she prepared to finish her sentence. "He broke up with me..."


	18. Chapter 18

_Chapter Eighteen_

"He did what?!" Naruto burst out whenever I told him what had happened between Sakura and Sasuke last night. The other people in our first period health class glanced over to us, wondering what it was that we were talking about. I gripped Naruto's wrist, squeezing, signalling to him that he needed to keep his voice down.

"He broke up with her," I repeated myself in a hushed tone. "She told me everything. She went over to Sasuke's house whenever he got home at two in the morning, and she never made it in the house. Whenever she said that she needed to talk to him, he had stepped outside onto the porch and shut the door behind him. She told him the news, that she was pregnant.

"She told me that the look on his face scared her, because he didn't make any sort of reaction. He stayed completely composed, not showing any sort of shock. Then, he told her that he had been thinking of breaking up with her for a little while now. And so, he broke up with her, and she came back to my house, crying her eyes out."

Naruto's hands clenched into fists and his teeth grinded against one another as he bit down hard. There was a flash in his sapphire eyes, and this quick illumination almost worried me.

"Where's Sakura now?" he spit through his teeth.

"She didn't come to school today." I sighed, thinking about how awful and guilty that Sakura felt right now. She ended up staying over at my house again, but neither of us slept. Instead, I sat up with her while she cradled her stomach and was smothered by tears. Deep down, I knew there was nothing that I could do, even though I so desperately wanted to help her. I wanted to make things better, but I didn't know how.

I prayed, though, that she wouldn't kill the baby.

Still in awe, my mind couldn't seem to comprehend the fact that Sasuke broke it off with Sakura; I know that she told me he said he had been thinking about it for a while. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but somehow, I just couldn't bring myself to believe him. If he truly had been thinking about breaking up with her, why had he still taken her in the bedroom?

Nothing about this made sense, and it killed me. While I didn't entirely know how the minds of men really worked, I just couldn't believe that Sasuke would still have sex with Sakura if he was having thoughts of terminating their relationship.

"He's a coward," I heard Naruto mutter under his breath as Jiraiya moved to the front of the room, preparing to begin his class.

OoO

Naruto was tense the entire day. I only had one period apart from him, and during that period I prayed that he wouldn't confront Sasuke. Actually, I hoped that they wouldn't see each other all day, because that would solve most of the problem. But then, we still had to make it through basketball practice, which neared all too quickly.

Naruto and I walked from Mr. Hatake's English classroom - he always came and picked me up after the final bell rang - and began making our way to his locker. I could tell that he was tense, and he was angry. He had to get through a two hour basketball practice with Sasuke, and I was a little nervous. I didn't know what would come out of it.

I could that he was trying so hard to keep a good demeanor around me, but his anger shone through. I could see it in his eyes, and hear it in the tone of his voice. He was legitimately pissed off - excuse my French.

He had gathered his belongings quickly from his locker and slammed it shut, jamming the lock back shut. We turned around and headed for my locker, and I got a glimpse of Sasuke at the end of the hall, making his way towards the gymnasium. Naruto's grip on my hand tightened, and I stroked the back of his hand with my thumb, trying with everything I had to keep him calm.

I didn't have homework tonight, so I didn't really need to retrieve anything other than my gym bag and my jacket out of my locker. And, the moment I had been dreading all day, we headed to the gym. My hand trembled with every step that we took and I could feel the breath in my lungs diminishing.

The moment we entered the gym hallway, I realized that I had to separate from Naruto so that we could both change for practice. I was highly afraid that he might confront Sasuke. Whenever I saw Sasuke step out of the guy's locker room and move towards the gym, I rested a little easier. I kept Naruto next to me, distracting him with a kiss until Sasuke completely disappeared inside the gymnasium.

Whenever we let go of one another's hands, I rushed into the girl's locker room and threw my bag down on the bench. I ripped off my clothes as fast as I possibly could, because I didn't want Naruto walking into the gym before me. I would have to hold him back if he started yelling at Sasuke.

I swifty tore my bra off of my body and switched it with a sports bra, then strangled my body with a loose tank top. I kicked off my dark blue flats and unbuttoned my jeans at the same instant. My jeans fell down around my ankles, and I jumped out of them, instantly sliding both of my legs into athletic shorts.

I didn't give myself time to feel self-conscious about the short length of them; rather, I hastily slipped my socks over my feet and allowed the shoes to follow. I decided that I would tie them whenever I got into the gymnasium.

In a rapid hurry, I briskly removed myself from the locker room and power walked down the hallway, turning into the gym. Most of the guys were already in there, goofing off and playing a quick game of PIG.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I bent over to tie my shoes. Naruto was not yet in the gym, which game me some time to breathe for a moment.

"Hey, Hinata!" Kiba called out to me, and I glanced up as he spun a basketball on the tip of his index finger. "Wanna play?"

He was referring to their game of PIG, but I had to decline, because I was terrible at shooting a basketball. Actually, I wasn't very good at most team sports. I shook my head at him, and he shrugged.

"Suit yourself."

I glanced over to the door and saw Naruto walk in, his hands balled up into tight fists. I could almost feel the anger radiating off his body. Again, I began to panic, especially whenever he began to move in Sasuke's direction. He saw it coming, because he turned to face Naruto with an indifferent expression on his face.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, and it echoed in the gym. All of the guys stopped their game and watched as their enraged blonde teammate confronted their blasé point guard.

"This has nothing to do with you, Naruto," Sasuke said to him, brushing him off of his shoulder. I was surprised that Sasuke even knew what Naruto was so fired up about. I stood up and began moving to Naruto's side, afraid of what was going to happen. "Bug off."

That was all it took for Naruto to completely lose his composure. "You're a coward!" he yelled, and within the blink of an eye, Naruto's fist was in Sasuke's face, and Sasuke was taking a step back to decrease the force of the blow.

The entire room was silent while Sasuke rubbed his cheek bone, standing back up straight and glaring at his teammate. I could see flames shoot from Sasuke's eyes as he returned the favor to Naruto - an eye for an eye. Before I could even think about stepping in to intervene, the two boys were pounding one another to a pulp.

"Guys, stop!" I yelled as loud as I could - which of course wasn't loud at all. But I tried so hard! Whenever Sasuke's fist collided with Naruto's nose, I heard a crack, and something wet splattered on my cheek. Stepping back for only a moment, I touched my fingertips to the spot and looked at them. Blood stained the fragile tips of my fingers, and immediately, I knew I had to literally get in between them.

But I was afraid. I had never in my life experienced a physical fight between two people, especially between guys that could hurt me if I got in their cross-fire. Why weren't the other guys stepping in? They all stood there, staring at the two punching one another as if they were inanimate objects, and as if they couldn't be physically hurt.

But they could get hurt, and Naruto's nose was already gushing blood. Blood dripped from the edge of Sasuke's mouth, but neither of them let up or even winced at a new injury.

"Please, stop!" I tried yelling again, but nobody heard me. I could have started crying; not in sadness, but in fear and anger. I know that Naruto had every right to be angry at Sasuke for abandoning Sakura at a time like this, but I also understood Sasuke's side of the story, where Naruto shouldn't get involved.

I couldn't side with any of the two on this, and so I had to remain as Switzerland. But no matter what I was in this grand scheme of things, I also had to be the one to put an end to this fight before somebody really got hurt.

Blow after blow, the guys kept hitting one another brutally, and I didn't know how much more of this my heart could take. Naruto was now with his back pressed up against the wall, taking every hit that Sasuke could possibly throw at him.

"What the hell?!" I heard Tsunade's voice echo from over at the door, and I looked to her for help. She was a lot stronger than I could ever dream to be, and she probably wasn't afraid to get in the middle of a brawl.

Tsunade rushed over to the guys attacking each other, and she grabbed Sasuke by the waist, yanking him backwards. However, as Sasuke was forcibly moved away, Naruto began to move closer to him, to get the last punch.

"Naruto!" I cried out, slamming my body into him and knocking him back against the wall. "Stop! Please!" Naruto and I slid down, me falling to my knees in between his thighs, and he plopping down on his backside. His breathing was harsh as he tried to catch it. My arms were constricted tightly around his waist, keeping a steady hold on him.

I lost it. The tears waterfalled down my cheeks and mixed with the spatters of blood that had gotten on my skin.

"Hinata..." Naruto murmured, and he tightened the grip of his legs around my body, at the same time as swadling me in his bare arms. He craned his neck forward, just enough to rest a cheek on my head.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?!" Tsunade bellowed. I couldn't see her with the back of my head, but if I could, I would see a woman spitting flames. "I'm two minutes late and you start pounding on each other like animals!"

Neither Naruto or Sasuke said a single word, but the tension between them could be felt all across the gym.

Tsunade groaned. "Hinata," she called my name, and I turned around to look at her through watery eyes. "Go get them some ice."

I nodded once and stood up, stepping out of the ring that Naruto's legs kept me in. Thank God Tsunade got there. I just wasn't strong enough.

OoO

Despite the fact that Naruto's and Sasuke's faces looked terrible with cuts and bruises, Tsunade pushed them twice as hard in practice. She was not a happy lady tonight; I doubt anybody in the gym at that time was having the time of their life. Because of the fight, all of the guys seemed stiff, and it was evident that none of them wanted to go around Sasuke or Naruto.

Naruto and I stepped into my house after a long walk home from the school. Even between us, the atmosphere was tight, and I wasn't sure if he was going to share my bed with me tonight; I wasn't sure if I wanted to share my bed with him tonight.

"I'm going to take a shower," he muttered and marched up the stairs, stomping away angrily. The door to my bathroom slammed shut, and I fell backwards onto my couch, completely and utterly drained of all energy.

I debated whether or not I should go over and talk to Sasuke myself, in order to keep a calm and friendly environment. Because, let's face it: I wasn't going to punch him in the face, and I sure hoped that he wouldn't.

My mouth curved to the right as I thought about this, and wondered if I would only make it better or worse. Then again, how could it get worse? Sakura was pregnant, and Sasuke broke up with her. Could it get worse?

I doubt it.

I swung my feet up into the air to gain momentum, just enough to where the force of my legs could bring me to sit up on the couch. Sitting there for a moment, I listened as the shower faucet squeaked as it was turned on, and water pattered down onto the bathtub floor.

I got up leisurely and stretched for a moment before glancing outside. Despite the fact that it was only five thirty, the skies were already black with night. Preparing for the icy torture of the December winds, I bundled myself snuggly in my byzantium jacket and constricted a scarf around my throat. I yanked the gloves out of my coat pockets and slid them over my hands.

I began moving towards the back door, glancing up the stairs towards the bathroom. Though I felt guilty about leaving the house without letting Naruto know, I was well aware that if he knew where I was going, then he would forbid me from going.

It was just Sasuke. It wasn't like a demon had planted itself in his body and is using him as a host. He was still Sasuke, only he was Sasuke who made a terrible decision.

Making sure my feet were silent while moving across the hardwood floors, I tip-toed over to the back door, where I let myself out into the sub zero environment, and shut the door behind me.

OoO

I was practically a human icicle by the time I had reached the Uchiha condo, but I made it there in one piece. I lifted my hand up to knock on the blood-red door, and as my raw knuckles - despite being covered by gloves - collided with the hard material, they cried out in pain. Listening attentively, I made out two voices, arguing over something, and footsteps neared the front door.

The solid barrier was removed from my eyes, and the gentle face of Sasuke's older brother, Itachi, appeared before me. He smiled warmly at me; maybe he remembered me from whenever Sasuke and I worked on our Psychology project last year.

"Hi," he said to me, and I shyly folded my hands in front of my hips.

"Hello," I returned the polite greeting. "Is Sasuke here?" I knew the answer to that, but I felt that it would be rude to simply barge into their house. However, I would not be leaving this porch until I told Sasuke what I needed to.

Itachi hesitated for a moment, and I prayed that he wouldn't lie to me. I had already heard Sasuke's voice come from inside before the door was even open. Itachi turned around, facing those expensive couches in the living room.

"Sasuke, you've got a visitor," he said, and I waited on the porch while Sasuke took his time appearing in the doorway. The moment he saw me, I could see an immediate anger that flamed through his veins. Itachi looked confused to his reaction to me, the shy and quiet girl on their front porch.

"What do _you_ want?" he spit, and I could instantly feel the heat of his rage. I gulped once, almost losing every ounce of courage that I had. I wanted to run away.

But I couldn't.

"I need to talk to you," I said, planting my feet solidly on the cement, preparing not to budge under any circumstances.

"I don't want to talk to you." Sasuke went to slam the door in my face, and I did something that I thought I'd never do in my entire life; I shoved my hand out and stopped him from shutting me out. He was certainly stunned, but I don't know if he was as baffled by my actions as I was. Because I knew actions spoke louder than words, I said nothing. Simply, I stood there, holding his front door open, glaring at him. After moments of harsh stares, Sasuke groaned and released his hold on the door. "Make it quick."

I nodded, stepping inside, moving past Itachi and Sasuke, who allowed me to enter their magnificent home. The heat that radiated throughout its entire body engulfed me, warming my frozen flesh.

"It's about Sakura," I told Sasuke, and he slammed the front door shut and grabbed my wrist, dragging me down a large hallway. I knew that he was leading me to his bedroom so that we could talk in private; I doubt he told his family that he had fathered a child. We passed through room after room, hallways that came out of nowhere, and he turned right down another hall, leading to the enormous space of his room.

The moment we were inside, he closed the door behind him and locked it. From the gloomy look on his face, I could tell that he missed her, and that he hadn't been planning on breaking up with her.

"Why?" I asked, and his face turned to mine in confusion. Those charcoal eyes stared me down almost harshly. "Why would you run away from something that you're responsible for?"

Sasuke moved past me and kept true in the trajectory of his bed, then flopped down on it weakly. He touched his face, wincing at the places that bruised with the mark of Naruto's knuckles. He wiped his face, tired.

"You've never been in a relationship before," Sasuke said to me, and I found no relevance in that statement. "You wouldn't know."

I folded my arms across my chest and paced back and forth through his room, trying to build my body temperature back up.

"A relationship," I said, "requires so much. You give and you take, and you own up to your mistakes. You don't run away from them like a coward."

"I'm not running away!" Sasuke snapped, but he was dead wrong.

"You are, Sasuke!" I spoke in a voice that was almost pleading; I wanted him to understand the point and evaluate the situation objectively. "You broke it off with Sakura the moment you found out that you guys were having a baby." At this truth, Sasuke was silent. "Why?"

A harsh sigh was released from his lungs, and he rested his elbows on his thighs. "Because the whole thing just freaks me out," he finally admitted, and I closed my eyes to absorb his confession. "I'm not ready to be a father."

"Shouldn't you have thought about that before you started having sex with anybody?" I questioned, and he refused to turn his eyes to me. "And what about Sakura?"

"I love Sakura," Sasuke confessed, becoming defensive about the topic. "But I can't be a father yet."

"Well think about Sakura. She loves you more than anything. She doesn't want to be a mother now, but she can't run away as easily as you can. She's embracing her mistake and not taking it out on an innocent life." The words that left my mouth were passionate and true, and I could only hope that Sasuke could wrap his head around them. "Did you ever stop to think about the fact that Sakura is just as scared as you are about this?"

Sasuke's head snapped in my direction, as if those words came as a surprise to him. He wanted to say something - anything - but I don't think he could really come up with anything to wrap his lips around.

"She may even be more scared than you are," I continued. "You left her when she needed you most, and now she's planning on being a single mother raising a child by herself. You abandoned her, Sasuke."

Those words were the finishing blow. Sasuke dropped his head, and grasped clumps of his midnight black hair in his hands. His torso curled tightly as he compressed his face to his knees, and his entire body began trembling.

Then, I heard it. I didn't think it was even possible.

Sasuke Uchiha was crying.


	19. Chapter 19

_Chapter Nineteen_

By the time I had convinced Sasuke that he was in the wrong, I heard his phone go off, and he glanced over at it, wiping his eyes, ashamed to have lost himself in front of me. His phone sat on the other end of his bed, vibrating at the incoming call, and playing some sort of song that I had never heard before.

When Sasuke didn't move towards the phone, I strolled over and hovered over the screen, glancing at the caller identification.

_Naruto Uzumaki._

My eyes flickered to Sasuke, who was no longer paying his attention in my direction. Instead, he stared blankly at the floor under his feet, clearly still processing my accusations.

"Do you mind?" I asked, reaching out for his phone and picking it up gently, so as not to put a scratch on it.

"Do what you want," he muttered and sniffed, but still didn't move from the space he occupied on the navy blue bedspread. I nodded once at him and tapped the screen on the little green answer key. Almost afraid to hear Naruto's panicked voice, I hesitated before placing the device at my ear. Holding it close with both hands, I brought myself to speak.

"Hello?" I asked, even though I knew who it was and what he was doing calling Sasuke's cellular device.

"Sasuke?" he spoke, a hint of horror in his voice as he asked for his friend. I don't think he knew it was me on the phone. "Have you seen Hinata?"

"I'm sorry, Naruto." My voice trembled as I spoke to him. "I had to come here; I had to make things right."

It took Naruto a moment or so to process the fact that he was talking to me, and not some stranger. Because I didn't have a cell phone, he probably wasn't used to hearing my voice coming from one. That's probably why he didn't recognize the shy, quiet voice as mine.

"Hinata, where are you?!" his voice suddenly got completely serious as he came to the realization of my answering Sasuke's phone.

"I'm at Sasuke's house," I told him, suddenly feeling guilty that I had left my house without telling Naruto where I was going. He was going to be so mad at me.

"Stay there," he demanded of me. "I'm coming to get you." Before I could get another breath out, Naruto disconnected the lines, leaving me without an argument. I stood there for a moment, fearing that I had upset him. But it had to be done; I needed to get the main point across to Sasuke, and I think my talking to him may have proven my point. If saving Sakura and Sasuke's relationship yielded my unhappiness, then it may have been worth it.

"Hinata," Sasuke said, turning his gaze towards me. I tenderly placed his expensive cell phone back on his bed as if it were a fragile child. "Why are you so worried about whether or not I stay with Sakura?"

I sighed once and shoved my hands in the pockets of my jacket. "It wasn't a question of if you two stay together." I took a single step towards him, but then stopped. "It was to make sure you made the right decision. When Sakura told me that you had been thinking about breaking up, I didn't believe it. I could tell that you still loved her."

"How?"

How do I explain this? "Well," I began, attempting to put the feelings into words. "Whenever you don't love somebody, it's hard to fake the idea that you do. I look at you and Sakura, and I pray that my relationship will last as long as yours, and be as strong too. You two know that you don't always have to be together, and that it's okay to be apart sometimes.

"When I see you and Sakura, I feel this...overwhelming warmness radiating through my body, because the passion and the love for one another is evident."

Sasuke turned his eyes to the floor again, and his shoulders dropped noticeably. "People are always talking about us," he murmured. "They're always saying that all we do is have sex."

_"Sasuke and Sakura are always having sex."_ Naruto's voice rang in my head, and I wondered if he had been wrong about that.

"I mean," Sasuke continued, breaking me from my reminiscing thoughts, "yeah, we do have sex a lot." The fact that he was admitting this made my face turn red, because I didn't know why he was telling me this. "But they say it like it doesn't mean anything. I love Sakura, and my actions are how I speak the words I cannot say."

I could completely relate to him; for words were always so difficult to say, and the best course of action would be to show someone how much you care. Words can be very...misleading, and can often be taken the wrong way. Sometimes, it was better not to say anything at all.

I thought of Naruto, and how I had had such a difficult time telling him that I loved him. I knew that I did. I love Naruto with my entire heart, body and soul. But getting the words to pass through my lips proved to be difficult.

With Naruto, I had an array of emotions that had once seemed foreign to me. I never really knew how truly happy I could be, and I feel as though I never really knew the full extent of happiness. With Naruto, I was in a state of bliss. I wanted to protect him, and I wanted to be with him until the day I died.

But I would never say that, because then I would be ridiculed, and told that I was just a hormone-crazy teenage girl who didn't know what love was.

Naruto, I love him, more than words could say.

I definitely understood where Sasuke was coming from.

"People think that teenagers don't know what it's like to love somebody, and that we're confusing infatuation with love. But with Sakura and me, it's not just a crush or a fling. I love her, and I would do anything for her."

I nodded once and moved closer to Sasuke, sitting down next to him on his bed. He stared at me, stunned that I had been bold enough to take a seat beside him. I inhaled a deep breath through my mouth and prepared to tell him what both Naruto and I needed to say to him.

"Then you need to step up, brush yourself off, and be the man that Sakura needs you to be. She's going to need you to be there for your child. I mean," I turned my eyes to the ceiling, searching for the words, "In less than nine months, Sakura's going to be bringing a new life into the world, and I'm sure she'll want nobody but you there with her."

Sasuke glanced down at my lap, watching my hands hold one another tightly. "How far along is she?"

"I don't know," I told him. "But she just took the test on Saturday night."

"I see."

From somewhere in the house, I heard a commotion; the sound of someone barging through the front door rang in my ears, and I heard footsteps bound down the dreadfully long hallway. Both Sasuke and I held our attention on his bedroom door as the feet grew nearer and nearer, and soon they were outside the room that we sat in. There was no knock; the door just flung open, and we both watched as Naruto stormed into the room, out of breath.

I jumped up off of the bed and turned my entire body to face him. Before I could suck in a breath to speak, Naruto lunged for me, and he constricted one arm around my scapulas, the other wrapping over my shoulders and the hand caressed the back of my head.

"Thank God, you're okay," he coughed out harshly. I was stunned for a moment and merely stood there with my arms dragging at my sides.

"Did you run here?" I asked in perplex, fearing that I had caused more stress to Naruto's physical and mental being. He couldn't seem to catch his breath as he contracted his arms around my body, squeezing me so tightly. It felt nice, especially since I was concerned with the tension between us whenever we had come home from basketball. "Naruto?"

"Please, don't ever do that again," he pleaded of me, and I felt guilty again for making him worry about me. "I got out of the shower, and you were gone."

"Naruto, I-"

"I called everybody I could think of: the hospital, Sakura, Lee, all the guys on the team and Coach. If Sasuke didn't know where you were, I was going to call the police."

"I'm so sorry," I said, my voice begging for forgiveness. "I didn't mean to make you worry."

Naruto pushed me away from him slightly, holding me at arm's length, and he stared at me in my eyes. I was trapped in the monsoon of his ocean eyes, and I couldn't - even if I wanted to - break the hold that he held on my attention.

"Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?" he interrogated, in desperate search to find the answer to my madness. There were still hints of panic spattered about his face, and my guilt increased as I picked them out one by one. "Was it because I punched Sasuke earlier?"

"No," I whispered, feeling my eyes trying to drop to our feet.

"Then what?" His voice strained as he continued to question me. "Are you angry with me, or did I do anything to scare you?" Whenever I didn't answer, I could see his entire face drop as a final thought drifted through his mind. "You don't want to break up with me, do you?"

Horror punched me in the face, in the gut, and in the heart as he asked that final question. The excruciation that filled my entity was too much; how could he possibly think that. I burst into tears and gripped Naruto's forearms, squeezing so tight.

"How could you...?" I couldn't finish my sentence. The sadness was just too much. I would never break up with Naruto. The love that I felt for him was too strong; I doubt I could do it, even if I wanted to. He was so precious to me, and I wasn't about to throw him out of my life. "I love you, Naruto." Despite the fact that I wanted to look away, I had to hold Naruto's eyes in mine, so he could see how serious I was whenever I said those three bittersweet words.

"I'm sorry, Hinata." Naruto hummed softly, catching me off guard. I didn't know what he was apologizing to me for, but he heaved me closer to his body, crushing me in his embrace. To be smothered never made me feel so alive.

"Naruto..."

"Please don't cry, Hinata. I'm sorry."

OoO

After that night, Sasuke had gone to Sakura's house and apologized, begging her to take him back. I doubt she could have refused his groveling, and she definitely wasn't in a position to leave him behind. Their relationship wasn't at the same level that it had been, but they were doing okay. I knew that they would; they really loved each other.

Sasuke and I grew a bit closer, I think. He wouldn't ever admit it, not that I pressed him to. But I never told anybody about his weeping in front of me.

At the same time, my relationship with Naruto continued to grow stronger and stronger. As Christmas rolled around the corner, I began shopping with Sakura and collecting ideas for a gift for Naruto.

I had been putting more hours in at the bookstore, having to go there directly after basketball. I would work from five thirty until eleven thirty, or sometimes even later. Naruto, if he couldn't get the same shift as me, would always come to the tiny little store about a half an hour before my shift ended, and he would walk home with me.

Despite all of the time I spent working, I still didn't have enough money to make a dent in all of the bills I had to pay. I don't think I'd be living in my house much longer; I would have to tell Neji that the insurance check still hasn't arrived at my house.

But despite the bills, I couldn't bring myself to skip out on buying a present for Naruto. I cared too much about him, and this was our first Christmas together as a couple. I wanted to get him something.

However, I didn't even know where to start. I wasn't a very skilled gift-giver, and it seemed as though the topic became more difficult as I attempted to shop for someone of the opposing gender. While we were out, I also looked around for Neji. Same dilemma; I didn't know what guys liked.

"You've got to make it personal," Sakura told me as she glanced around through the fine jewelry. I took one look at the prices and could have had a stroke. I think the cheapest thing I saw was something priced at thirty four dollars. Other than that, the prices escalated quickly. "Last year, Sasuke and I gave each other gag gifts that we had gotten made together."

_Gag gift?_

"He got a black T-shirt, and I bought a black tank, along with black briefs - for him - and black bikini underwear - for me. We took them to a screen printing company and had them write 'Sasuke was here" on my shirt, pointing downwards. Opposite name for his tee, of course. For the underwear, we got each other's names printed across the butt."

I imagined what it would have been like to order such a design, and I couldn't help but think about Naruto and me doing that. The only problem is that we aren't sexually active, so the meaning behind the text is pointless.

I blushed at the thought of Naruto and me actually doing something like that.

"What does Naruto like?" Sakura asked, trying to help me in pondering ideas. I turned my attention to her, only to realize that I didn't really know what he liked.

I knew he liked football and basketball, and his favorite food was ramen. But what was I going to do to work with that?

"Does he wear any necklaces or anything?" she asked me, and I thought back to all the times I had seen him without his shirt on. Was there a necklace of some sort there? "I mean, he'd probably wear one if you got it for him. If it came from you, I'm sure he'd like it no matter what."

Would he? I wasn't entirely sure. I would hate to buy something for him that he doesn't like, and I'd hate even worse if he pretended to like it for my sake. I really hoped, though, that I could get something truly amazing that Naruto would like. But ideas evaded me.

Some days whenever we went shopping, Sasuke and Naruto would tag along, and we'd make a date out of it. Sometimes, we would run into Shikamaru and Temari, who were always bagging on one another; they didn't seem to care, no matter who said what.

Whenever we would all come together, we would all go out for lunch. Naruto would never let me pay for my own meal, which made me feel like a freeloader, but I noticed that Sakura and Temari didn't have to bother with the check, either. When I asked Sakura about it later, she said that it was the perk of being a girl.

There were perks that one gets, depending on their gender? That was definitely news to me.

No matter what we did during the day or how late it got at night, Naruto and I would always end up back at my house all the same. We took turns taking a shower, and I heated up some chicken-flavored ramen. We would eat together, and then we'd put the bowls in the sink and move upstairs.

Sometimes, we would spend so much time embraced in one another and kissing each other's lips so passionately, that we would forget about the time. My body heated up while I was smothered under Naruto's firm, muscular body. While the weather was down in the single digits, the two of us exchanged so much body heat under my blankets as our kisses turned into full-blown make-outs. We generated so much heat that the two of us sometimes began to perspire.

I had never in my entire life known such bliss, and when Naruto and I were together. All of my worries and concerns miraculously melted away with the heat of our bodies, and I felt as though I could conquer anything. I could move mountains, so long as Naruto stayed at my side.

Naruto squeezed my hand in his, and our fingers danced together while our lips tangoed. His other arm wrapped under me, his hand caressing the curve of my back. For a moment, my nerves shivered at his touch, sending chills trickling up and down my spine.

The weekend before Christmas, I had gone to the hospital to visit Neji, who was recovering quicker than I imagined. Tenten wasn't there yet, and Naruto and I had parted ways for the day. He was going over to his house to spend the day with his parents. Because it was only Neji in me inhabiting that room at the moment, I decided that I should tell him about the insurance check that never came.

"What?" he questioned me, as if he didn't hear what I had said. His eyebrows contracted and his eyes grew hard as anger mixed in his face.

"The insurance check never came," I repeated myself, and I squeezed my hands tightly in my lap. Neji sat up straight before slouching over, thinking through the situation. He seemed completely perplexed.

"Can you go find me a phone book and a phone?" Neji asked of me, and I nodded once before standing up, moving away from the chair that sat by Neji's bedside. My movements were swift but calm, and I stepped out of the room and into the main hallway of the Critical Care Unit. Pacing towards the main desk, I was met face-to-face with the brunette nurse with the red-painted lips.

She smiled at me and greeted me personally; the two of us had come to know one another on a first name basis.

"Hi, Hinata," Akane Yamanaka stopped to talk to me. Akane was Ino's mother, which I had found out earlier in December. Besides being a nurse in Critical Care, she also ran a flower shop on her own time. Ino worked there most of the time, she had told me, and that was her part-time job. Of course, she was paid under the table.

"Hello, Akane." I planted my feet flat on the floor and folded my hands at my hips. "Is there a phone and a phone book I could borrow?" I asked, and Akane turned towards the desk and picked up the thick, yellow paperback book, handed it to me, and fished out her cell phone, entrusting it in my care. "Thank you," I said before rotating on the balls of my feet and moving back towards Neji's room, where my cousin awaited my return.

He sat, slumped over in the hospital bed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Whenever I re entered the room, he turned his stressed gaze towards me. I didn't entirely know what he was going to do, but I forfeited the items that he had asked for. Tossing the phone book onto his lap almost roughly, Neji began flipping through it, searching for a specific number.

Whenever he found it, he held his hand out for Akane's borrowed cell phone and began punching in the digits that he read off of the page. He was rough with everything he touched, and I was afraid that he was still too fragile from the accident, and would hurt himself. Neji pressed the phone to his ear and listened as the other line ringed. I couldn't hear what was said on the opposing end, but when Neji began speaking, I assumed that he was able to get ahold of somebody.

"Speak to a representative," he said, frustration cursing his voice. For a moment, I stood there in complete silence; before he spoke again, I returned to the chair at Neji's bedside. There was a buzz that I could hear on the other end, and Neji closed the phone book in his lap. "This is Neji Hyuga; I'm calling on behalf of Hiashi Hyuga, who passed away on November fourteenth." Neji paused for a moment while the person on the other line spoke to him. "Yes, he did. His daughter hasn't received any compensation on behalf of her loss." More silence. The entire time, though, Neji didn't look at me once. "Yes, thank you."

I really hoped that Neji could help me with this. I really didn't want to be evicted from our house, and I definitely didn't want to be a burden on anybody. In complete and total honesty, I didn't know where I would go if I had to leave my house.

"How the hell can you not find records of his policy?!" Neji yelled into the phone, and all hope I had of being able to stay at my house faded. He steamed while the other person spoke to him, and I could see his right hand clench into a fist. His jaw tightened, and I was afraid that he was going to hurt his body, despite all the time that had been used to recover. "Yes, I'm sure he had insurance. I helped pay the damn bills!" I turned my eyes to the hands in my lap that tightened. "What do you mean there's nothing you can do?!"

_I'm going to be homeless._

"You're lucky I have no money, buddy, or I'd be taking you to court!" Neji shouted before slamming the top of the phone shut. He fumed, enraged at the fact that they had misplaced all records of my father ever paying for health insurance.

I couldn't help myself. I let tears slip out of my eyes, despite the fact that I tried so hard to hold them back. Once the landlord found that I couldn't pay the rent, he would kick me out without a second thought. I was going to be homeless.

Neji turned his gaze to me and his rage instantaneously fell into that of sorrow.

"Oh, Hinata..."


	20. Chapter 20

_Chapter Twenty_

Every day, I waited for the landlord to show up, demanding me to pay rent with the money that I didn't have. I didn't know when he would come, and I feared that it would be soon. But, despite my fear of becoming homeless, I kept the secret away from Naruto; he would overreact if he knew about this issue.

Is there a way to overreact about a significant other becoming homeless?

No matter; I tried hard not to worry about something that was bound to happen, and was out of my control. When the time came, I would figure something out. I had faith.

The days on the calendar continued to be crossed off, and I had yet to find a gift for Naruto. It was the day before Christmas Eve, and I was frantically running around the mall in search of ideas. But nothing sparked my interest, and I almost found it impossible to find him something.

I had stopped into the jewelers again one final time to look around, but I had no hope that I would find anything. After all, it was mostly women's jewelry; I doubt Naruto would like a diamond necklace, if I could afford it.

It was only when I had glanced in one of the shelves that I had noticed a bracelet that wasn't girly. It looked like a black leather body, with a single, flat stone attached to it. The only reason I had seen it was because there was a little sign next to it that read: 'free engraving with purchase.'

My eyes skimmed to the southern end of the bracelet, and I noticed the price being sixty two dollars - and that was with the applied sale of forty percent off.

I had seventy dollars in the green and violet wristlet that Sakura had given me as an early Christmas present, and I had worked so hard at the bookstore in order to get enough money to buy Naruto a nice Christmas gift.

But what would I engrave on the stone? Would he find it weird if I engraved two hearts, connected by an arrow? Would that be cheesy?

"_If it came from you, I'm sure he'd like it no matter what."_ Sakura's voice echoed in my head, and I wondered if there was any truth in that. How would she know that Naruto would like the gift I would give him?

_I'll do it._

It wasn't like I had any other ideas, and I felt as though he may appreciate this gift from me. I really did hope that he would like it. I wanted nothing more than to get him something that he would really like.

"Hinata?" A voice called my name from over the counter, and I glanced up to see none other than Shikamaru, standing on the other side of the glass. He seemed both inconvenienced and surprised at the same time.

"Oh, Shikamaru," I spoke quietly, becoming completely shy around Shikamaru; I had never really been around him without the other guys, so I didn't really know what to say to him. "You work here?"

"Yeah," he replied, scratching the back of his head. "It's such a drag, but this was the only place that hired me."

"It's nice. I wasn't expecting to see you here - working or shopping." I dropped my hands to my sides and slid them into the pockets on my jacket. Up close like this, I noticed that Shikamaru was very laid back. In basketball, he was completely aggressive, and I sort of feared him on the court.

"What are you looking for here?" He asked me, and I had almost forgotten. I yanked my right hand out of my pocket and pointed to the bracelet.

"Could I get that?" I asked, and he slid a door open in the back of the glass case, reaching in with caution to retrieve the gift that I was going to present to Naruto in a little over a day. Shikamaru placed it gently on the surface of the glass box, and the stone made a slight clinking noise as it collided with the hard glass.

"For Naruto?" he asked me, and I blushed, turning my eyes away from Shikamaru completely. I heard him snicker, and I returned my gaze to him, confused. "I think he'll like it. What do you want me to engrave in the stone?"

I pondered for a moment, thinking about my conjoining hearts, and that was the only image that stuck in my mind. I felt as though it might be a good idea, and I decided that I was going to have that engraved in the smooth stone on the bracelet.

"Would it be weird," I don't know why I was asking his opinion, but I felt that - since he was a guy - he might be able to offer some advice, "if I had two hearts engraved, and a single arrow piercing through them and holding them together?"

Shikamaru lifted an eyebrow and caressed the bracelet in between his fingers. "Care to draw out what you have in mind? I'm not much of an artist." He slid me a note card and a pencil. I guess I could draw it, but I wasn't entirely confident in my artistic skills, either. Either way, I clutched the pencil in my hand and pressed the tip to the note card.

The top of the hearts ended up being round and plush, almost like little balloons. The tips weren't pointy, but slightly rounded. They looked decent, and I was a tiny bit shocked to see them come out almost perfectly. The last detail was the arrow that pierced through them, which I found was the stereotypical Cupid arrow. Wrong holiday, but I figured it would be alright.

Nervously, I slid the card over to Shikamaru, who glanced at it without a word. For a moment, he just stared at it, and my hands began to tremble with the fear that it was - as I had feared - weird. I bit my lip without realizing it at first, but when Shikamaru jabbed two fingers on the corner of the note card, I released my hold.

"I think I could do that," he said and picked it up completely, holding it in a single hand; in the other was the gift that I would be giving to Naruto. "I'll start on it tonight, and I'll probably have it ready by tomorrow evening, before Temari's Christmas party." His eyes flickered and held mine after he said this, and I grew almost uncomfortable. "Are you and Naruto going?"

Christmas party? I don't think the two of us were invited; I didn't even know about an upcoming party. I wondered if it had been mentioned to Naruto, and he had forgotten to tell me. No matter what had happened with the delivery message, the result was the same; I hadn't known about a party.

"What Christmas party?" I asked him, and he cocked his head at me in slight perplex.

"Temari has a party at her house every Christmas Eve, and everybody goes. Naruto too; he comes every year," he informed me, and I immediately began to think of reasons why he didn't tell me. Was he planning on going without me; that would have been okay, had he been honest and told me about it. Or did he just not want to go this year?

"Oh," was all I could manage to say. I wanted to ask Naruto about it, but I was afraid to.

"I think Lee is going to be there, too. He's in town for Christmas, so he's going to come again."

Oh! I had forgotten about Lee for a moment or so; I still had to return his latest letter that was sitting on my kitchen counter. I really hoped - if I didn't get to go to the party to see him - that Lee would come by my house so we could catch up in person.

Out of my wristlet, I retrieved the seventy dollars to pay for the gift, and I forfeited it to Shikamaru, who took it and punched the details into the register on an island in the center of the glass cases. It hurt to sacrifice all of that money that I had worked so hard to earn, but the only thing keeping me from taking it back was my overwhelming desire to give Naruto something nice.

I took a deep breath as he handed me my change of four dollars and twenty-eight cents.

"Yeah," he continued. "Ask Naruto about it tonight. If Temari didn't invite you guys, then I'm inviting you."

I smiled at Shikamaru before I rotated on my heels and started towards the door, where I knew the icy cold of the late December night would harass my flesh.

"Thank you. Goodnight."

OoO

I stepped into the darkness of my lonely house and wandered in blindly. The moonlight slipped through the windows in my living room and from the kitchen, glittering on the hardwood floors. I sighed and threw my sixty five dollar-lacking wristlet on the couch and moved into the kitchen.

The nights that I spent away from Naruto felt like forever, and I wondered if they would ever pass. His parents had told him that he needed to come home for tonight, and so he couldn't come and walk with me to my house after my shift at the bookstore.

I flicked on the lightswitch as a reaction to the darkness, but whenever no light came from the bulb in the ceiling, I remembered that the electric company had terminated my ability to illuminate my house. It was only a matter of time before the heat was shut off, and the water, and soon, I would be evicted.

While I still had the use of my gas stove, I decided to make dinner before going to take a shower. I yanked a pan out of the cupboard at my shins and threw it on the stove. Tearing open the pantry, I could have cried; there was only three cans of soup left on the shelf, and two packs of ramen. I was almost out of food, and I only had four dollars left.

_What am I supposed to do?_

I retrieved a can of chicken noodle soup from inside the barren cabinets, and I sighed as I placed it on the counter firmly, gripping the tab to pull off the lid. It creaked open, and I tipped it upside down, allowing all of the contents to plop into the pan that was heating up.

Sometimes, I wish the landlord would just come and kick me out, so I didn't have to worry about when he would finally show up. Until he did, I was going to lose everything one by one, starting with the electric, which was already gone. If they shut off my water before the time of my expulsion, then I would have to shower in the school's locker room. If they shut off my heat, I would have to find the naturally warmest spot in my house and sleep with all of the blankets on top of me. If they turned off my gas, I would have to purchase convenience foods and fast food.

I would make it work.

I just didn't want Naruto to find out that I was already living without power in my house. I still have yet to tell him that the insurance company had completely lost their record of my father ever paying for their service. He didn't know that I was going to be losing my house. He didn't know that I was scraping the bottom of the barrel just to feed myself on a day to day basis.

I didn't want him to worry, and I certainly didn't want to be a bother on him. I didn't want to inconvenience anybody; which was why I didn't know what I was going to do once I was exiled from this house.

I picked up one of the wooden spoons that my mother had used whenever she would make homemade soups, and I began stirring my dinner that began simmering in the pan. It sizzled a little bit as a drop of broth slithered down the side of the pan and into the fire beneath the burner.

After stirring it for about thirty seconds, I tapped the spoon on the side of the pan and set it on the counter. Turning to the cabinet on my right side, I tore the doors open and fetched a bowl that would be large enough to hold what the can of soup made. I had to eat it all in one meal, due to the fact that my refrigerator was no longer powered. I could cover it and put it outside, but then I would have no way to warm it up; the microwave held the same diagnosis as the refrigerator.

Normally, Naruto and I would share a can, so I wouldn't have to force myself to eat all of it. While he never asked for more, I could tell by the way he ate at school that he could eat more than a half of a can by himself.

Due to the lack of food in my house and the lack of money in my wristlet, I had lost a little bit of weight, but nobody noticed anything negative; they all thought it was because of my participation in basketball practice. Nobody knew that I was living on cheap soup and dollar store cereal, and I wanted to keep it that way.

Carefully, I wrapped my fingers around the handle of the pan and I tipped it over, pouring all of its contents into the bowl in front of me. Steam fluttered into my face initially, then grew calm as it released most of its force. I placed the pan on one of the other burners and turned the one that was on off.

As I made my way over to the kitchen table with the hot bowl of soup in both of my hands, I heard a tap on my back door. As an immediate reaction, my head whipped to the right, and I saw Tenten outside on my back patio. My eyebrows scrunched together; I wondered why she was here. Placing the bowl on the table and brushing my hands on my jeans, I turned to the door and took the few elapsed steps towards it. With a flick of my wrist, I unlocked the door and opened it, allowing Tenten to step inside, out of the bitter world.

"Hi, Tenten," I said, and I knew she could hear the dumbfoundment in my tone, because I could hear it loud and clear. "What are you doing here?"

Tenten shivered once, adjusting to the heat that still ran in my house. She clasped her hands around her ears and removed the earmuffs that protected her from the cold. Like always, her hair was tied up into two buns, on either side of her head. Her russet eyes turned to me and she forced a warm smile.

"Neji told me to come check on you," she said. "Your power got shut off, didn't it?" It wasn't really a question. She was stating the unfortunate event. But how did she know? It wasn't like I had told anybody, especially not Neji. So how would Tenten know about the financial complications with the electric company?

"How did you know my electric was turned off?" I questioned her, and bit the inside of my lip.

"Neji told me about what the insurance company did to you, and he was really concerned about you. I told him I'd come check up on you, and you're here in the complete darkness making soup." She glanced towards the open pantry and noticed the two cans that remained in my house. Her eyebrows curled upwards, and she returned her gaze to me. "Hinata, is that all the food you have?"

I wanted to lie so badly, because I didn't want her to tell Neji, because then Neji would worry about me. But I think that something on my face told her the only truth.

"...You don't have any money to pay for anything, do you?"

I couldn't lie now. She knew too much about the situation for me to be able to slip something past her. So I shook my head.

"I'm just waiting to be evicted now," I confessed, embarrassed to have to admit the sorry fact to her. Tenten nodded once and shoved her hands into the pockets of her red jacket. She licked her lips briefly and took in a breath to speak.

"I have an extra room in my apartment," Tenten said to me. "You can come live with me."

"But what about Neji?" I asked. "Where is he going to go when he's allowed to leave the hospital?"

"We talked about it already. He knew that he wouldn't be able to pay the rent by himself, so we decided that he was going to live with me, too."

_But what about Naruto?_

I really enjoyed whenever Naruto stayed with me at night, and I felt safe. We were going to have to be apart more than we have typically been, and that scared me. I wanted to continue the way things had been between us. I wanted him to sleep with me in my bed, and hold me in his muscular arms as if I was the only person in the world. I loved being smothered by his affection.

But I was in a position right now where I couldn't be picky. I mean, look at my situation; I had no electricity flowing through my house. I had only two cans of soup left in my house. There were only four dollars and change inhabiting my wristlet.

Right now, I didn't have room to stick my nose up at such an offer.

"Okay," I said reluctantly. I was going to have to tell Naruto everything now.

"Will you be okay for tonight?" She asked me, and I nodded. I actually wanted to stay here until Christmas was over, that way it would be easier for me to be with Naruto and Sakura and Sasuke. But even so, I'd have to begin packing.


	21. Chapter 21

_Chapter Twenty-One_

After a long night of lying awake and thinking about what was happening in my life, I finally got up at ten o'clock in the morning and began going through my closet, preparing to begin packing all of my belongings. I started removing all of my clothes from the closet, laying them gingerly on my bed. I didn't know where I was going to put them when I transported them to Tenten's apartment, but I guess I could borrow some lawn and leaf bags from one of the neighbors.

I felt a stab of pain every time I reached into my closet and ripped an article of clothing out. I knew that with every object that I moved out of place, I was one step closer to leaving my house. That was a large burden that sat on my shoulders like a rock.

When about half of my clothes lay piled on top of each other on my bed, I changed my course of action and moved to my nightstand, where I fell to my knees and began going through the miscellaneous and sentimental junk that was scattered. I opened the only drawer, and I came to that box of condoms that I had bought to ease Naruto's concern. Despite the fact that I knew I wasn't going to be needing them - especially once I moved in with Tenten - I tossed them on my bed anyway.

I still didn't know how I was going to tell Naruto that I was moving. We would no longer be a few blocks away from one another, and so I probably won't get to see him as much. I was almost positive that Tenten wouldn't approve of him practically living with me once I entered her apartment.

My heart broke a little bit as I thought of having to kiss Naruto goodbye. I'd probably only get to see him at school, basketball, work, and maybe on the weekends. Others would say that that was plenty of time to spend with another person, but when you had been practically conjoined at the hip, it seemed like only a few moments to spend together.

I would probably be lonely at night; I had quickly grown accustomed to falling asleep bundled in Naruto's arms. We would talk and laugh, and I never really knew what time we would end up falling into unconsciousness. The time passed by so swiftly whenever I was with him, and I wished that we could have more time together before I had to leave.

Since the insurance company lost the record of my father, I realized that my dream of attending college would no longer come true. I would be graduating in five months, and I'd probably have to enter the workforce immediately. What my living condition would be at that time, I wasn't entirely sure. However, I hoped that I would be able to see Naruto more than I will until that time.

After going through most of the scattered stuff on the bedside table, I stood up and turned around, moving towards the door. I stepped into the hallway reluctantly, and I planted my feet there and stood unmoving. My eyes were glued to the closed door on the opposing end of the hallway, and I stared at it for the longest time.

I gulped once, and I could feel myself perspiring as I used every muscle in my body just to lift my leg and move it closer to that door. My heart felt as though it wasn't beating at all as I reached out my hand to grasp the cold doorknob. I twisted, and I let the door move away from me on its own.

Inside, the room was pitch black, shrouded in complete and utter darkness. The blinds were folded closed, never letting sunlight in. Only shadows crept throughout the room that I had not dared to open for over a month.

In a flash, familiar stenches filled my nasal cavities, engulfing them and triggering my mind with so many tender memories that excruciated. The light smell of citrus and the bold scent of pepper filled my entire being with the two things I didn't want to think about.

_Mom...and Dad..._

I hadn't had the guts to go into their room since they were killed in the accident in November, for this reason exactly; I didn't want to have to bear the pain of remembering them. It would have been so much easier if I could have just hit my head and forgotten everything that happened. Being haunted like this, I wondered how long my brain would obsess over their absence. Sometimes, I wish their memory would leave me alone. I didn't know how much longer I could stand the pain of remembrance.

I don't know what possessed my brain to control my body without my consent, but it moved my feet, and forced me to walk into the room that my parents used to share. With every step I took, the bitter tears were closer and closer to flowing down my cheeks.

I choked on the air that was supposed to be supporting my life, and I clutched my chest, gripping the fabric of the black Hello Kitty T-shirt that I had worn to bed. My hold on the material was so tight that I swore the bones of my knuckles would tear right through my pale skin.

There were warm lines streaking down my face, and I realized that, yet again, I had lost the fight against my tears.

I remembered what my mother had said to me whenever I had succumbed to the pain and was sucked into the darkness for a second time: _"I was so happy, because you weren't there. You weren't in that car whenever we were hit. I never would have forgiven myself, had you been hurt like Neji was."_

Mom was happy, but I just couldn't stop the pain from coming, despite the fact that she expressed her joy. She left me here on this earth, just like Neji's parents had left him. The only difference between Neji and me was the fact that the person I loved wouldn't let me push him out of my life. Tenten and Lee; they had both given up whenever Neji fell into his darkness. Naruto; he refused to let me writhe in pain by myself.

That's when it hit me: Mom and Dad - my parents...they didn't leave me alone. They may have left me, but they entrusted my care to the people around me. Naruto, and Sakura and Sasuke. The guys on the basketball team. Minato and Kushina. Lee and Tenten. Temari. Coach Tsunade and Orochimaru. Neji.

My parents had placed me in the care of so many wonderful people, and they knew that I would be okay. I would be okay, because I wasn't in solitude. All of the people in my life were all incredible beings that have altered me, supported me, and gave me their unconditional love.

I could slap myself for taking so long to realize this. As long as all of these people were with me, I never will be desolate.

"Mom, Dad," I whispered, turning my eyes to the ceiling. "I finally understand. All these people that care about me; you left me here with them. You knew they'd take care of me." The grip on my shirt was loosed greatly, but I still held my hand to my chest. A deep sigh emerged from my lungs as I began to accept the fact that they were gone. "Thank you."

There was a knock on my front door, and I turned around, wondering who it could be. Typically, the people who come to my house - if they know me pretty well - come to the back door.

What if it was the landlord?

I was afraid, because I wanted to stay in this house a little longer, at least until Christmas ended, because I wanted to be close to Naruto.

I turned around slowly, my trajectory being the hallway that was still dark, due to the electricity being shut off. As if my feet were bricks, I trudged heavily down the hall and to the acme of the staircase. The person who was outside knocked again, and I felt my fear grow.

The moment I reached the base of the steps, I turned my head to my left and gaped at the front door, whose window was also covered by blinds. There was only a dark silhouette that reflected from the front porch, and I could tell that the person was definitely a man.

I sighed again and moved my heavy body towards the door, unlocking it slowly and yanking the door open. The light of late morning shot in my eyes, blinding me from the details of the man who stood there on my porch, awaiting my greeting.

"Hello, Hinata!" Lee's voice struck my ears, and I blinked through the sun's rays and was able to make out the form of my dear friend Rock Lee. Immediately, all of my fear turned to shock as Lee stood erect, with one hand on his hip, the other up and waving hello to me.

"Lee?" I said, befuddled to see him standing before me, and he walked into me, constricting warm and friendly arms around my shoulders. Was he always this tall?

"Hinata, how are you doing?" he asked me, stepping into the darkness of my house and closing the door. "Why is it so dark in here?"

I sighed and led Lee over to the cheap sofas in my living room, where we sat down together, ready to reminisce and catch up with one another. I also had to answer his question, because he stared at me with a soft gaze, awaiting my reply.

"I have no money," I confessed to him embarrassed. "The electric company turned off my electricity."

Lee's face scrunched and his eyebrows pulled together in sympathy. "That is truly terrible, Hinata. What is going to happen to this house?"

"I've already started packing my things." My hands balled into fists against my knees. "Tenten has offered for me to stay at her apartment. She said that Neji is going to come there, too whenever he is able to leave the hospital."

Something painted on Lee's face, and he sat there for a moment with his lips pursed. "Neji...and Tenten?"

That's right. I had forgotten that Lee did not come to see Neji in the hospital before he had returned to college after the funeral. He did not want to be pushed away by the person who used to be his best friend; not again. I had known that, and so I hadn't pressured him to go. But at the same time, he was unaware that Tenten couldn't keep herself away from her past love.

"They made up," I said hesitantly, and Lee forced a sorry smile and turned his eyes to his lap.

"I am so happy to hear that."

My eyes observed him carefully through the darkness. The only light that was casted was through the windows, which were also smothered by curtains. Though Lee said he was happy for his friends, I could tell that he was unhappy. He didn't like the fact that he had not gone to see Neji, and had not made up with his former friend.

"You don't sound happy," I murmured and slid closer to him carefully. I repeated the gesture that Sakura always gave to me whenever I was feeling down; I grabbed a hold of Lee's hand and squeezed it tightly.

Lee's eyes flickered to our hands, and immediately his face twisted in confusion. I didn't know why; this was a friendly gesture, wasn't it? Was this weird?

"I should have gone to the hospital with you," Lee said, ignoring that moment of awkwardness between us, but he still clutched my hand and held on tight. "I should have gone to see Neji that day." As he said this, I felt a pain in my chest for him; he missed his friend. Neji had abandoned him, and Lee didn't want to pick open the scabs from that, and so he chose not to go to the hospital. But to hear that Tenten had gone to the hospital, only to make up with Neji for the lost years? That had to be hard on him.

"It's not too late, Lee," I told him, putting one of my feet on the sofa, compressing a single knee to my chin. "You can come with me to see him tomorrow."

Lee sighed and rested the back of his head on the couch, staring at the ceiling.

"Thank you, Hinata," he almost whispered. "Maybe I will." With a flash in his eyes, he turned his attention back to me, a sort of energy in his gleam. "Are you going to Temari's party tonight?" he asked me, and came to the realization that I had completely forgotten about it. I was going to ask Naruto, but I haven't seen him since yesterday morning, and I found out that there was such a party last night.

"I'm going to ask Naruto about it," I said, smiling a little bit.

"Oh yes, Naruto has gone every year, and it is such a blast!" Lee laughed out loud, and I wished that I had met all of these wonderful people sooner. I would have loved to have been there with them, if they wanted me there.

"He never said anything about it," I said, wondering the worst possible scenarios. Maybe this was his thing, and he didn't want to drag me along.

Lee had opened his mouth to say something, but the back door opened and closed quickly, and there were footsteps in my kitchen, moving briskly for the living room. Both Lee and I turned to look at the arch that connected the kitchen and living room, and we saw my blonde love. He was headed in a B-line for the stairs, and almost completely missed us in the darkness; but he saw us, and his grin faded into a confused look.

I realized that this must look pretty suspicious to him; Lee and me sitting in the dark together, our hands interlocked. Nonchalantly, I tugged my hand away and put it in my lap.

"Naruto." I smiled at him, and he cocked his head, a strange look in his eyes.

"Hinata? What's going on?" he asked, and I could hear a pinch of hurt in his tone. His face had dropped and he looked as if somebody had just died. "Why are the lights off, and what's Bushy Brow doing here?"

"It's not what you think," Lee interjected, and I think that may have been for the worse. I could see Naruto becoming angry with the situation, and I realized that he may have been jealous. I blushed.

"Shut up, Lee!" Naruto shouted. "Hinata, what the hell's going on?!" In an instant, some sort of fear had arisen on his face, and he darted up the stairs. Filled with concern, I leapt up off of the couch and bounded after him on light feet. I took the stairs one at a time, shuffling my feet quickly as I went, careful not to miss a stair. I saw Naruto disappear into my room, and I was worried at what he was looking for.

The moment I reached the acme of my stairs, I relayed down the short hallway and rotated right ninety five degrees, speeding into my room, only to come to a sudden halt. Naruto stood with his back turned to me, hovering over my bed. I wondered what he was staring at, and I cocked my head.

"Naruto?" I asked him quietly. "What's wrong?"

He didn't answer me right away, and I watched as his body began to tremble. I could tell that he was holding something in his hands, but his body blocked me from seeing what exactly it was. Blinking a few times, my eyes scanned my room as I thought about it. I caught sight of my nightstand, and I realized that I had taken everything out of its drawer.

"How could you, Hinata?" he choked up, and then he turned around to face me, the box of condoms that I had bought in his hand. He was implying that I had had a physical relation with Lee, and I almost felt sick to my stomach; not because it was Lee, but because I couldn't imagine betraying Naruto. The very thought made me nauseous.

I knew that there was one missing, but that was only because I kept one in my wristlet, just in case we became passionate outside of my house.

But Naruto didn't know that, and he had come to the conclusion that one had been used between Lee and me while he wasn't here.

"I would have expected this from anybody else I could have dated. But you?" His eyes squinted in rage at what he thought had happened. I heard Lee coming up the steps, and I immediately feared for him. I knew that Naruto could pack a punch; I had seen him up close when he and Sasuke fought. Lee's presence emanated from behind me and I heard a gasp come from my mouth. I didn't turn around; rather, I kept my eyes on Naruto, who glared viciously at Lee, who didn't even know what was happening and what Naruto thought we had done.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Naruto shouted, directing his anger at Lee, and I almost cowered like I had done during the fight before practice. But I realized that I didn't want Naruto to get into another fight. I didn't know if I could stand the pain of watching him punch and be punched. I didn't want to see his blood come out of his body.

Despite the fact that my body was wracked with terror, I ran forwards towards Naruto, who didn't see me immediately through the veil of his fury. Whenever we collided, I constricted my arms around his waist and pushed him backwards, and I fell on top of him on my bed.

Naruto's face was filled with shock as more tears slipped out of my eyes and dripped down onto his cheeks. More than likely, he wasn't expecting such a shy girl like me to counterattack him and prevent him from coming in contact with another fight. My long, dark locks fell down onto Naruto's shoulders and laid by his ears.

"Hinata..." he whispered.

"You have it all wrong, Naruto!" I cried out in such a small voice. "I love you; I would never dream of betraying you like that or in any other way."

I watched as he blinked, processing what had just happened, but I was positive that he did not know what was actually going on. He didn't know about my financial struggle, and about the insurance checks that would never come. I never told him about any of that.

"It's dark in my house because they shut of my electricity," I shed bitter tears of degradation. "There's a condom missing because I keep it in my wristlet, just in case something sparks between us and we're not at my house. Lee and I held hands because I was sympathizing with him about Neji," I admitted everything, poured out all of my secrets to Naruto. "Please, just don't fight."

"Hinata," Naruto murmured from below me, and he didn't move any muscles. "What do you mean they shut off your power?"

"I can't pay the bills," I sobbed. "Neji said my dad paid for life insurance, but the insurance company lost the record of my father paying for the service, and so they're not going to help me. I'm moving out of this house after Christmas, and I'm going to be living with Tenten."

Naruto sucked in a breath and held me in his stare for too many moments. I could see hurt in his eyes as I unravelled my problem to him. "You're moving?" I could almost hear his heart sink to the bottom of his chest as he said those two words. "Why can't you come live with me?"

"I've debated that, but I found two reasons why I didn't ask: I didn't want to inconvenience you or your parents, and I didn't want to be away from Neji."

"What do you mean, 'be away from Neji'?"

I sighed. "Once Neji gets out of the hospital, he's going to move in with Tenten, too. I wanted to be with him."

Naruto reached his arms up and wrapped them around my body, tugging me down gingerly to lay on his chest. I didn't fight against him; I was really going to miss laying with Naruto, being in his arms for hours on end.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he murmured, stroking my hair and staring up at the ceiling. My ear was pressed to his chest, and I could hear his heart thumping away inside his thoracic cavity. The long locks of hair that hung from my head fell in my face, but I didn't care. I didn't want to move. "I could have helped..."

"Nobody could have helped, without having to pay all of my bills." I shook my head gently. "I couldn't allow that."

The idea that Lee was still standing in my room left my mind, and all I could think about was drowning in Naruto's embrace. I never wanted to leave him, but unfortunately, fate called us away from one another. I was to go live with Tenten, and he was going to have to reside back in his own home. This lifestyle would seem quite different for both of us, and I fear it will be difficult for us to adapt to. We had become so accustomed to one another, and now it was all changing.

I just hoped that the flame of our relationship didn't die due to our separation. I didn't know what I would do if that happened. Surely, I would be torn apart, and nobody would be able to be brave enough to leap into the darkness headfirst and save me, just as Naruto had whenever I was drowning in my own sorrow.

"Hinata," Naruto murmured in a light hum, and I moved not a single muscle. My eyes continued to stare at the head of my bed, where they had been glued since he pressed me down onto his chest.

"Hmm?" I answered lightly, almost inaudibly. I was content right here and right now. I never wanted this moment to end; I wanted to be with Naruto forever.

"You are the greatest thing that ever happened to me..."


	22. Chapter 22

_Chapter Twenty-Two_

It turns out that Naruto and I were invited to Temari's party, but he didn't tell me. He was planning to take me there for a surprise, but Shikamaru ruined said surprise. That was okay; as long as Naruto wasn't ashamed to have me around, then I was happy. I borrowed Lee's cell phone to text Shikamaru, to ask him if he could bring Naruto's gift to the party and give it to me there. He agreed with my request.

But now, it was two o'clock in the afternoon, and we still had four hours to kill before the party, so the three of us left my sorry electricity-free house and Lee drove us to Naruto's apartment. The moment we stepped in, we ended up on his couch, pounding away at buttons on a controller, fighting to the death on his television screen.

After three rounds of fighting - and three rounds of my being defeated almost instantly - Naruto took my controller away from me, setting it on the coffee table in front of our shins. I was a little confused on what he was doing, but he kicked his right leg around my body and held me in between his thighs. My eyes flickered to him, curiosity spiking my interest. He handed me his controller, and I held it loosely. Naruto's arms wrapped over mine, and he held my hands firmly on the controller.

My eyes were still upon him, and he glanced at me, grinning. "I'll help you," he said, and turned his attention back to the screen. "Lee, you're going down!" Naruto unpaused the game and began the fourth round, where Naruto and I fought as a team. He led my fingers around on the analog sticks, and he somehow had the coordination to continue using my left thumb on the analog while moving my right thumb to press a combination of the buttons.

"I will never be beaten by you, Naruto!" Lee's entire body jerked around, moving rapidly with his character on the screen. His movements caused my eyes to glance over at him, only for a second. Naruto's chin rested on my shoulder, and his ear brushed against mine. He smelled so nice; I never really knew how to describe what men smell like, but whatever it was, his scent was heavenly. I could become intoxicated quite simply by his aroma.

Round four took so much longer than the first three rounds, probably because I wasn't there to die within the first five seconds. Naruto's character and Lee's character were duking it out, fighting to the death, and our person just kicked Lee's in the face.

"That may have hurt," Lee spoke, never once allowing his eyes to drift from the television screen, "but there is such a thing as an eye for an eye." All of a sudden, Lee's character dropped to the floor and kicked our character's feet out from under us. I gasped as the controller in my sweating hands vibrated viciously as our character fell to the ground.

I could feel Naruto's jaw clench as he focused his attention on nothing but the screen, but somehow managed to move my thumbs around and created a series of attacks that proved to be a perfect and fatal combination for Lee's virtual self.

The moment that the screen went dark and the statistics were presented to us, Lee and Naruto fell backwards, letting out a harsh breath, as if they had been holding it inside their lungs the entire fight. I blinked, glancing at the two boys, who cracked their knuckles.

"Next round, you are going down!" Lee threatened, and I took a peek at Naruto, who continued to straddle me from behind. His gaze was turned to our friend on the right side of the single couch, and they exchanged glances of competitiveness.

"Next round, you're both going down!" Minato's voice sounded from the other side of the apartment, and he power-walked over to us, grabbed my abandoned controller, and plopped down on the recliner on my left. To this challenge, my two peers began smack-talking Minato, upping the competitive nature of the guys.

I couldn't help myself. I had to laugh, just a little bit. I had never really been around a bunch of men like this, and so I hadn't known what to expect. But this? This was quite comical.

"Okay, old man!" Naruto placed both of his hands over mine, and I noticed out of my peripheral vision that Lee and Minato turned their attention back to the screen, waiting for Naruto to start the next battle. "Ready, Hinata?" he asked me lightly, giving me a quick grin while I nodded, preparing for the simulated combat.

Naruto pressed the X button on our controller, and we waited anxiously for the fight to begin. I could feel his thighs tighten around mine, and I couldn't help but to blush a tiny bit.

I didn't know what the cue was going to be to get ready to fight, but it happened oh so suddenly. Naruto moved my fingers around faster than I think I could have myself, and he controlled them so well. The controller vibrated under my flesh as Minato took a flying kick at us, hitting is in the chest.

Lee's character sprinted over to us and he punched Minato point blank, knocking him to the floor. He recovered quickly, and I could hear him pounding away at the buttons on his controller in order to create a perfect combination of moves.

I watched the screen carefully, and I noticed that Minato was the best out of the rest of us; he was literally kicking our virtual butts. Lee's character sped right past our character, who was picking himself up off of the floor after being knocked down by Minato's wooden staff.

I think I was beginning to understand what Naruto and Lee were doing; they were focusing all of their attacks on Minato, so that the two of them could wipe him out before he could do the same to them. They double-teamed, attempting to attack from both sides. Minato, however, made his character fall onto his hip, and he kicked our character's feet out from under us. A cheap move, but it worked, because Minato was able to escape from the little barricade that we made.

While we were down, Lee certainly took a beating, but he was still able to get up and continue to fight. He had his defenses high until we could get our character back on his feet and moving to Minato's turned back. At the same time, we built up an attack that was sure to take him out once and for all. Naruto's right index finger held mine down onto the top right button, and we both grew excited at the anticipation, waiting for our attack to fully charge.

We sprinted to the left to the screen, to where Minato and Lee were duking it out, and we prepared to strike. We were going to take Minato down, and then finish the fight against Lee, who was already weakened.

Right as we were going to unleash our attack, Minato's character swung his foot backwards and kicked us in the head forcefully. While we were down again, Minato began walking towards us. Naruto jabbed his fingers down on the buttons, I don't think in any particular order.

"Get up, get up, get up!" he shouted, but it was too late. Minato grabbed us by our feet and tossed us up into the air as if we were nothing but a rag doll. He jumped up inhumanly high, meeting us with a drawn sword. I couldn't count how many times he hit us before we could plummet back down to the ground, but he took us out, and we were down for the count.

Minato laughed diabolically and turned his character's attention back to Lee, who began pacing backwards in defense.

"See what happens when you get cocky in front of your girlfriend?" Minato said, and I immediately turned crimson in the face. That was the first time anybody had ever referred to me as Naruto's girlfriend. It sounded nice to me, but it didn't ease my embarrassment. I tightened my grip on the controller, and I felt Naruto's hands move away from mine. Rather, he held my thighs, and kissed my jaw.

My eyes turned to Naruto's, and he grinned wickedly, but with a heated passion for us. His irises were so big in comparison to his pupils at the moment, and I fell into his oceans and drowned. He pressed his lips to the side of my mouth, planting little kisses across the right side of my face.

Minato and Lee paid no attention whatsoever to us - thankfully. Instead, they continued to yell at one another and shout at the television screen.

"You're beautiful, Hinata," he whispered into my ear before nibbling at the base of my neck gingerly. "I love you."

I couldn't get the words that he had said to me this morning out of my mind. They continued to replay and replay, making me excited and completely happy.

"_You are the greatest thing that ever happened to me..."_

Those words made my heart melt with undying heat. I would never become tired of hearing those words come out of his mouth. Those words, I knew, would get me through whatever I had to. Even when we are to be apart, and I will be living with Tenten, those words will aid me in remembering that Naruto loves me, and I love him.

I love him with my entire entity: mind, body and soul.

OoO

The three hours had passed quicker than I had expected, and we left with an hour to spare before the party. Naruto and I fell into the back seat of Lee's car, and we were ready for the hour drive until we reached Sand Valley. I had never been there before; the away basketball game against them had not yet come up. I had also never been to a Christmas party, and the fact that I got to go to one with Naruto just made me even more excited.

Apparently Temari had two brothers, both of which were younger than her. The youngest brother, Gaara, was our age, and I was warned that he always went a little heavy on the eye make-up. I kept an open mind about both of them, because I had no right to judge.

The snow outside was beginning to get heavy, and I prayed for our safety as we came close to Sand Valley.

The heat in Lee's car felt nice and cozy, and I snuggled up against Naruto, nudging my face at the base of his neck. He laughed silently before kissing my forehead and snaking his arm around my hip. While I really didn't want to kiss him in Lee's car while he was two feet away, I couldn't help myself. Our lips brushed once, and a spark ignited the flame, leaving both of us craving one another.

I did as Naruto had done to me several times since we had become a couple; I nibbled on his bottom lip, which definitely flipped a switch in him. He turned his body to me, despite the fact that he was restrained by the seat belt. His mouth on mine caused me to feel as though I was on fire.

Without a single sound, Naruto unbuckled his seat belt, which enabled him to move freely in the back of Lee's car. I almost felt a little guilty, being in such a hot state with Naruto while Lee had to listen to the sounds of our kisses and the tiny little moans that tweeted out of our throats.

Naruto unbuttoned my jacket and allowed his hands to sliter in, so he could easily grasp my hip. His thumbs glided under the bottom of my shirt, and he touched my flesh, brushing his thumb back and forth across the bump of my hip. His gentle touch aroused me way more than I should have let it. I sucked in a tiny little breath and grabbed his thigh, caressing it in the grasp of a single hand.

I think he liked that, because he shifted his position, pressing himself onto me, and I allowed his entire hand to move onto my bare hip. He squeezed my hip, and I opened my eyes only slightly, and I could see his face grimacing. For a moment, I didn't know why, but when it sunk in, I thought about stopping our little escapade before he lost control of his body. But I couldn't bring myself to push him away.

My stomach felt as though it was flying throughout my body, and I couldn't force myself to stop kissing him or gripping his thigh.

"You okay?" I murmured so lightly, I couldn't tell if I actually said it, or if it was just the voice in my head.

Naruto took a deep breath before moving his face to nuzzle my clavical. His left knee pressed against the side of my glutes, and his hands formed claws, clinging onto my back.

I took that as a yes, he was okay, and so I constricted a single arm around his back and held him tightly against my torso.

Suddenly, the back of Lee's car began spinning quickly, and Naruto's body was flung across the back seat; the top of his head collided with my jaw first, forcing my teeth to grind together. His head hit the opposing door and he slumped to the floor, grasping the wound. I was terrified, afraid that he had broken his neck, or something of the sort. When the back of the car came to a stop, the three of us were silent, breathing heavily.

Lee put the car in park and turned around in his seat to look at us. Naruto moved onto his knees and compressed his head between the seat of the car and his hands. I unbuckled my seatbelt so that I could kneel down on the floor and hold Naruto's shoulders.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, horror peppering my voice as I awaited his response. He groaned, but it sounded like he was okay.

"Yeah, Hinata," he said, and brought himself to stare at me, locking his eyes with mine. "Did you get hurt?" he asked me. In order to spare him the guilt, I shook my head and held his face in my hands.

"Thank goodness," I sighed out loud. That could have been a lot worse than it was; he could have gotten a concussion, or pinched a nerve. I think he could have broken his neck, too. But none of that happened, and I was more than relieved to see him able to push himself back onto the seat.

"I am sorry," Lee apologized, and both Naruto and I turned our attention to him. "The roads are getting slippery, and that last turn was sharper than I thought."

I was okay, because nobody had gotten seriously hurt. The whole situation terrified me, and nearly made my heart jump out of my chest.

"We are almost to Temari's house," Lee informed us, and I was grateful for that fact. I would be tense the entire way there, and I would probably be wary until we pulled up to her house.

"Put your seatbelt on," I murmured to Naruto, watching him to make sure he did, and then I did the same. Lee nodded once and turned his body back around, then shifted the car back into drive.

"I'm sorry," Naruto said and kept his hands to himself. I didn't know what he was apologizing for; he had done nothing wrong.

"For what?" I asked.

"I pushed myself on you again."

I grabbed Naruto's hand, which was held in his lap, and I squeezed it tightly. "You didn't do anything that I wouldn't have wanted from you," I said. His gaze fell upon our interlocked hands, and for a moment, he just sat there. "I love you," I whispered.

Naruto's cell phone began vibrating, and he fished it out of his jeans pocket. I glanced at the screen with him and saw Sakura's name written across it, with a new text message from her. He hesitated to slide the top of his phone up, I watched as he clicked on buttons, opening the message. I read the message over his shoulder.

_Are you guys almost here?_

Naruto flipped the top of his phone up and began typing back his reply. His thumbs flew across the keyboard swiftly and accurately.

_Almost. We'll be there in about five minutes._

Lee was right; we were almost there. I turned my eyes to look out the window, and I watched as the snow fell viciously, ready to engulf us in its fury.

I began to feel wary of the situation; the last time it snowed really badly was the day that the police officer had come to Konoha High in search of me, in order to tell me that my parents had been killed in an accident. Of course, I would be concerned; not for my own life, but for the lives of Naruto and Lee. I did not want to get into an accident and walk out of it without my friends. I loved them so dearly.

I think Naruto could feel my intense nervousness - whether or not he made the connection to the death of my parents, I wasn't sure. But either way, he embraced my hand with his own, and we gazed into one another's eyes. The warmth that he sent from his body to mine only made me wish that we could arrive at Temari's house sooner.

I loved Naruto, and I didn't want to lose him the same way I had lost my parents and had nearly lost Neji. I wouldn't know what I would do if the same fate had been bestowed upon Naruto.

Lee pulled over to the side of the road and jammed the vehicle in park, and I instantly breathed a sigh of relief. We were okay.


	23. Chapter 23

_Chapter Twenty-Three_

The moment we stepped into Temari's mini-mansion, Shikamaru pulled me to the side, into the dining room. Naruto went to follow me, but I quickly kissed his cheek and shooed him away. He was not permitted to see the exchange of my gift for him. His face twisted, but he didn't argue. Shikamaru waited until Naruto was out of hearing distance - as in, he waited until Naruto made his way into the basement, where supposedly everybody else was.

"I copied your sketch perfectly," he said, taking a box out of his sweatshirt pocket and bestowing it upon me. I held onto it firmly and removed the lid, and almost gasped. He wasn't lying; that looked identical to my drawing on that note card. The original sketch was folded once, crushed underneath the stone and leather bracelet.

"Thank you so much," I said, and I wanted to hug him as an ideal thanks for what he did for me. However, I really never talked to Shikamaru that much outside of practice, so I restrained myself. A warm smile did creep up across my cheeks. "It's perfect."

That seemed to boost his morale a bit, because his face perked up, and his shoulders moved back, if only just an inch. The change was subtle, but I caught it.

"I just hope Naruto likes it," I admitted, a little embarrassed, and also concerned that he may think my gift to him was a huge waste of money. That thought made my stomach twist a little bit. Shikamaru said nothing, just stood there watching me as I fingered the stone and stared at it with hard eyes.

"There's only one way to find out," he spoke and turned out of the dining room, moving in the direction that Naruto had disappeared to. "Go give it to him."

"I can't." I blushed and scraped the toe of my canvas shoe across the carpet. "Not in front of everybody. I'll look so weird if he doesn't like it."

Normally, I would have expected somebody to argue with me on this topic. Shikamaru, on the other hand, continued on his way to the basement with his hands in his pockets. I remembered that he was the laziest player on the team, and that he oftentimes made work to get out of work. I assumed that he didn't have it in him to put up an argument.

"Suit yourself," was all he said before disappearing out of the dining room. I stood there in solitude for a moment before spinning around on my toes and quickly stumbling after him. I didn't want to be left alone in such a big house that I was unfamiliar with. I slid Naruto's gift into my jacket pocket as I followed Shikamaru down the stairs, where the sound of music and voices captivated my ears.

I perceived a roar of laughter from the room, and I was a little disappointed that I had missed the joke. But I was used to being left out of everything, so I could deal with it. My feet touched the carpet of the basement floor, and I gawked at everything; their basement was nicer than my house. Bigger, too, perhaps.

The carpet was an off-white color, immaculately clean to the point where I slipped my shoes off and abandoned them at the base of the steps. The moment I turned away from the wall at my face, I noticed a bar to my left, and a booth to my right. In the center of the room was a pool table with balls still scattered about the surface. Somebody must have been in the middle of a match and just left it behind. To the left of the pool table were beautiful, forest green leather couches and recliners strategically placed to maximize conversation. In the middle of the array of sofas was a glass coffee table that looked almost too fancy to want to use. A large television was placed in the corner, and it played music that I had never really heard before.

I took a head count, searching out the people that I knew and the people I didn't; Sasuke and Sakura were here, cuddling together on the far sofa. I noticed Sasuke's hand caressing her stomach tenderly, and I almost felt the need to look away. Lee had taken a seat next to them and was already conversing with Sakura, laughing and talking to her as if they were the best of friends. I didn't know if they are or aren't friends, and I didn't want to be rude by asking. Kiba was sitting on the floor at the far end of the opposing sofa with a red plastic cup in his hand. He probably had to be the loudest one of the bunch, but I noticed that Naruto joined in instantaneously. Temari sat on the single recliner with her right leg folded over her left knee. Shikamaru lowered himself to sit in between the sofa and the recliner, and the way he looked at Temari while she spoke was just...inspiring. I didn't know why or how, but I got butterflies in my stomach.

I didn't know two of the other boys that inhabited the space of the basement, so I figured they were Temari's brothers. One had nice brown hair, spiked everywhere as if he had just rolled out of bed. His attitude seemed cocky, overly confident in everything he could possibly say or do. The other one had tomato red hair, and he wore eyeliner all around his eyes.

That one must be Gaara. So the other one is Kankuro?

I felt completely self conscious as I puttered over to the rest of the group, not expecting anybody to acknowledge me. However, whenever I walked over, I received jovial greetings from Temari, Sakura and Kiba. Sasuke gave me a small smile, and I exchanged one in return.

"Hinata, these are my brothers, Kankuro and Gaara," Temari held her hand out to her brothers, who waved absentmindedly. "Guys, this is Hinata. She's Naruto's girlfriend."

_Girlfriend_.

There was that word again. That word rang melodiously deep in my ears, channeling some kind of rejuvenated emotion throughout my entire body. I could have passed out right there, but I held myself back. Rather, I began to lower myself onto the floor, due to the fact that both of the sofas were jam packed with people. I didn't think I could squeeze myself in without accidently squishing either Kankuro or Naruto.

"You don't have to sit on the floor," Naruto said to me with a snort, and I stopped, hovering over the ground and staring at him. He patted his lap, and I swear my face turned beat red.

Was this okay? Was it socially acceptable? What if the other guests at Temari's party found my sitting on Naruto's lap weird?

"What's wrong?" he asked, frowning, and I couldn't resist him. I didn't want him to be sad, or think that I didn't like him. So I gently lowered myself down to sit on his lap, where he snaked his arms around the curve of my waist and hugged me tightly. I know I blushed majorly, but I glanced at Sakura, who grinned at me and winked.

As if it was completely natural, I constricted my legs around his shins and locked on with my ankles. Nobody batted an eye at Naruto and me, and I breathed an internal sigh of relief. While the redness in my cheeks was still there, I could feel it gradually fading away back to my pale color. My arms crossed over one another and I held Naruto's arms lovingly. There was nowhere I'd rather be.

"Hey, when's our game against you guys?" Kiba turned his head to Gaara, whose eyes flickered to his interrogator. Something about him seemed scary to me, however, I did not believe that he would do anything; everybody else here seems to trust him.

"I believe it is the second Tuesday in January," he said, his voice deep and almost dark. I bit my lip and unconsciously contracted my fingers around Naruto's arm. Naruto brushed my elbow with his thumb and kissed the back of my neck. Chills slithered up and down my spine, and goosebumps formed on my flesh.

"You guys are goin' down, I hope you know that," Kiba continued, beginning the trash talk two weeks prior to the game itself.

"You kidding?" Kankuro retorted, preparing to throw back the challenge. "Gaara is the best point guard out there. You guys don't stand a chance!"

Lee sat on the sofa, erect with his hands on his knees. "I am sorry, but Sasuke is a worthy opponent to Gaara. Sasuke will beat Gaara to the ground!"

Every voice in the room made an "ooooh," becoming intense in the talking of smack. I didn't really know what was going to happen; what if all these guys started fighting? I already stopped one fight today, and I certainly didn't think I could prevent one from happening between Gaara and Sasuke.

"He'll be lucky if I only beat him to the ground," Sasuke replied sharpy, a small grin snaking up the sides of his lips.

"Don't get cocky," Gaara told him. "You'll lead others to believe that you are correct, and so you'll be disappointing so many people whenever I crush you."

All eyes turned to Sasuke, who lifted an eyebrow and intertwined his fingers with Sakura's. A snarky gleam appeared within his charcoal eyes.

"Don't hold your breath, carrot-top."

At that, my mouth hung open. I was very foreign to this kind of environment, and so I didn't really know how to react to these kinds of words. Were they joking, were they being serious? This whole deal was new to me.

"Oh, please," Temari talked back. "Gaara could kick the butt of your entire team, single handedly."

"Okay," Naruto snorted from behind me, and I feared that if their was a fight, he would get involved. "Normally I would let someone keep living in their dreams. But I just don't want to see you guys cry whenever we wipe the floor with you."

I glanced back and forth between Temari and Naruto, who stared one another down almost viciously. The only saving grace was the fact that a smirk broke across Temari's face and there was a glint of buffoonery in her dark blue eyes.

"You guys get so intense about your sports," Sakura commented, referring to all of the men in the room, plus Temari. I realized that Temari fit in as one of the guys, and I wondered how she felt about that. "It's almost a sad."

"Well, I guess there's only one way to solve this." Temari shrugged her shoulders.

"Dance off!" Sakura shouted, and then received an awkward flicker from Temari's eyes. She chuckled and brushed off the gaze, and I began to think that she was kidding.

Sasuke sighed and released his grip from Sakura's hand, pushing himself up off of the plush leather couch. At the same instant, Gaara removed himself from the opposing sofa, and the two stared at one another.

"We go through this every year," he mumbled, brushing off whatever it was they were speaking of. My heart pounded, praying that they wouldn't begin pounding one another to a pulp. That seemed to be my biggest fear since Naruto and Sasuke had gotten into it.

"What's the score now?" Gaara folded his arms and stood with his feet perpendicular to his shoulders.

"Sixteen, fifteen; me."

Everybody began standing up and moving to the other side of the room. I stood up so that Naruto could do the same, and we followed them hand-in-hand. I didn't know what was happening, but it seemed as though everybody else was aware of the situation at hand. Naruto led me over to the pool table, where Sasuke and Gaara were equipping themselves with pool sticks. Kankuro and Kiba began gathering the balls out of the pockets that they were already occupying, and they rolled them to Temari, who began to rack them in the triangle.

This was going to solve the dispute over who was going to win the basketball game? Now, I was really confused. My befuddlement must have been evident on my face, because Naruto squeezed my hand and moved his mouth towards my ear.

"At these parties, a game of pool is always how we settle things," he explained, filling me in on the parties from the past three years that I had missed out on. "Sasuke and Gaara always end up playing each other, and they keep their scores in mind. They're usually tied, and it's safe to assume Gaara will win this game, tying their score again."

"Oh." I nodded, coming to understand the way things worked at these kinds of social gatherings. The atmosphere in the basement was friendly, despite the words that had been exchanged moments ago. Is this how everybody was supposed to act together? I really didn't know, and I felt as though I was a little left out of the loop.

"DoDo you play pool?" Naruto asked me, this time, moving his mouth away from my ear and speaking to me at a normal decibel. I shook my head; I didn't even know the first thing about this game, let alone how to strategize and come to victory. "Then I'll teach you tonight," he said, grinning a toothy grin. My heart fluttered as I watched him with innocent eyes.

"Okay," I spoke softly, but the sound of excitement couldn't be hidden from my tone. Was he going to show me how to play pool in the same manner that he instructed me how to play the video game that we played earlier today? I kind of hoped so. I liked it whenever he maneuvered my fingers to match what he would have done.

Naruto turned his attention back to the pool table, where Temari finished racking the balls, and Sasuke and Gaara were rubbing the tips of their sticks with something of a brick color. I watched attentively, hoping to learn something from observing the game. Apparently, I was watching professionals at work with these two.

Sakura inched her way over to where Naruto and I stood together, and she stood next to me. Despite the fact that she was wearing an overly large crimson sweater as a dress and black tights, she looked cute. I think she may be afraid that someone would notice the lump that has not yet formed in between her hips. I still wasn't sure exactly how many weeks she was into her pregnancy, but I was sure it wasn't that long.

"Hey Hinata," Sakura greeted me and constricted me in a hug, which I accepted gratefully. "I feel like I haven't talked to you in forever."

Actually, it had only been a week and a half, maybe two weeks. But I think I understood where she was coming from on this.

"I know," I said, replying in her sense of an exaggerated forever. I knew she had been spending a lot of time with Sasuke - more than normal. I think they've been discussing the details for their plans with the baby. "How have you been?"

"Sick." Sakura said with a tired smile. "This one doesn't like me sleeping in on the weekends." She touched her hand to her stomach, brushing her fingers along her flat tummy in a nurturing manner.

Okay, she brought up the pregnancy. It would be completely normal if I asked her how many weeks she's been pregnant, right?

"How far along are you?" I built up the courage to ask her, and she didn't seem angry or offended that I questioned.

"Eleven weeks," she said, and I almost stumbled backwards in shock. It was only a little bit into December that she had initially taken the pregnancy test in my bathroom. I could tell that she sensed my disbelief, and her eyebrows curled upwards as she chuckled. "I was already two months in before I had built up the courage to take the test," she explained, and that made much more sense. "After I missed my period for the second month, I knew that I probably should find out for sure."

I did the math in my head, and I came to the estimation that she should be having her baby sometime in July. So at least she would be able to graduate and walk with our class. That would definitely prove to be a different life for them than anybody could have expected. But they seemed happy right now, and I prayed that their happiness would stick with them forever.

Whenever we heard a loud click, the two of us turned our attention quickly to the game of pool that had started. The triangle of pool balls were separated upon impact from the white ball. I didn't know who had broken the trigonal shape, but whoever did knocked a single striped ball into one of the corner pockets.

Sasuke moved towards the white ball and began lining up a shot with another striped ball. So did he knock the first ball into a pocket? Or were they taking turns? I really didn't understand this game, but I watched closely as Sasuke bent at the hips, his eyes coming as parallel to his stick as they could. His gaze was met with his target, and he swiftly jabbed at the white ball to hit the red striped one, which tipped the top left corner's pocket, but teetered and refused to fall into it.

"Because Sasuke had gotten a ball in one of the pockets, he got to go again," Naruto explained to me, clearly seeing my confusion as I tried so hard to follow this game. "His goal is to get all of the striped balls into any of the pockets without knocking the eight ball into a pocket, and he doesn't want to scratch." As if he was aware of my lacking pool terminology, he continued on. "When someone hits the cue ball into one of the pockets."

Oh, so the white ball had a term for it. Cue ball. That wasn't too hard.

I watched Gaara move to the cue ball and do the same thing Sasuke had done, only he lined up his gaze with one of the solid-colored balls.

"You got this, Gaara," Kankuro encouraged and supported his brother.

"I know," Gaara replied coldly as he whacked the tip of his pool stick against the right side of the cue ball, sending it soaring at an angle to knock two of the solid balls into separate pockets.

"Temari!" A lady called down from the top of the stairs, and Temari's eyes flashed to the base of the steps.

"Yeah?" she answered the call.

"Come here for a minute!"

She made a face of annoyance, clearly not wanting to go upstairs, but she didn't refuse the request that had been called upon her. " 'Kay!" she replied and made her way to the steps, where she disappeared beyond the wall and trotted up the stairs.

The pool match continued, despite the fact that she had left the basement. I watched as the game quickly narrowed down. The most impressive was one of Sasuke's shots: he sat on the edge of the pool table and had shot with the pool stick wrapped around his back. Even at a seemingly disadvantaged shot like that, he had hit a combo of two balls in. I was impressed.

It came down to the challenge of the eight ball very quickly, and Sasuke was the first to call a pocket that he predicted he would hit it into. It was quiet as he lined up his shot, and I noticed intense concentration as he tapped the ball just hard enough to where it drifted across the table and towards the designated pocket. But, unfortunately for him, he hadn't hit it hard enough, and so it stopped mere inches away from the pocket.

Gaara called the same pocket that Sasuke had, and he barely bumped the cue ball. It hit the eight ball, pushing it just far enough to where it drifted off of the edge of the table and into the pocket that he had predicted.

Kankuro cheered and high-fived his younger brother, who cracked a grin.

"Tied," Gaara said to Sasuke as they returned their pool sticks to the rack against the wall. Sasuke snorted once.

"Until next game, whenever I break that tie, again."

"Hey, guys!" Temari's voice shouted as she shuffled her feet down the stairs, returning to the basement and her party. All eyes turned to look at her as she made her way back to the pool table. "The snow is getting really bad."

Both my heart and my breath stopped whenever she said this. All color drained from my face as I had thought about that day in November, when the snow had been bad. The only thing I could think of was my parents dying in an accident caused by the falling weather, and I rapidly feared the drive home.


	24. Chapter 24

_Chapter Twenty-Four_

"The snow is getting really bad," Temari said, standing before the crowd of people in her basement. I gulped and squeezed my hands together nervously. "My parents think it would be best for you all to stay here for tonight." This factor made me breathe a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Temari," Lee spoke with genuine grace. "We fishtailed on the way to your house, so I was afraid that it would only become worse as time passed."

"And so it did." Temari placed her hands on her hips. "I've got plenty of sweats for Sakura and Hinata to wear for the night. I'm sure Kankuro can lend out some of his sweatpants to the rest of you guys." She turned to Sakura and me, whose eyes flickered to her. "You guys can come with me, and I'll see if I can find some clothes for you to change into."

"Okay," Sakura said, and the two of us followed Temari towards the stairs. I happened to glance at a clock, and I couldn't believe the time; quarter til nine. Had we really been here that long? Turning my eyes to the stairs, I made sure to place my feet carefully on them so that I wouldn't trip and fall into Sakura, who strutted in front of me.

The guys that had remained in the basement immediately became rowdy, talking loudly and acting like...well, men. Outside of basketball, I had never really seen the guys interact like this, and a part of me just had to laugh at them. They were kind of cute. Especially Naruto.

When we reached the acme of the stairs and came into the kitchen, I saw the owner of the feminine voice that had summoned Temari in the middle of the pool match. She stood with her elbows on the counter. While she seemed very simple, she was a remarkably beautiful woman. Her sandy brown hair dusted down her neck and hung at her shoulders, her full fringe almost blinded her navy blue eyes. It was evident that Temari had her mother's eyes.

On the other end of the counter, sitting on a barstool, was a man whose hair looked like a mix of red and brown - which would explain Kankuro being a brunette and Gaara being a redhead. His face was hard, but he wasn't necessarily scowling at us. He had in his hand a short glass that was half-empty with alcohol. He sort of reminded me of my late father...

Both of Temari's parents turned to look at us, and Temari stopped right before reaching the stairs, leading to the second level of her house.

"Mom, Dad, this is Hinata," she gestured to me, and I blushed at the sudden attention casted upon me. "She's Naruto's girlfriend, and also the Konoha's boys basketball team manager." Temari turned to me. "This is my mother, Karura, and my father Ichigo."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," I said timidly, flashing a small and nervous smile at the owners of the beautiful house I was standing in and staying at tonight.

"Well isn't she just a cutie," Karura commented and laughed. "That Naruto is one lucky boy. I was thinking he'd never be able to find himself a girlfriend."

I could feel my skin burn as the blood rushed to my cheeks, boiling under my skin.

Temari forced a laugh and then continued on her trek towards the stairs. "I'm taking them to get some sweats to wear for the night."

"Okay." Karura nodded and turned her attention back to her husband, who she had been talking to quietly whenever we had initially come up the stairs from the basement. I followed Temari - Sakura didn't really look like she needed to be lead through the house. I guessed that most of the parties that this group of people had were typically held here. The way Naruto had talked about all of the pool games, it would make sense.

The red carpet of the staircase was plush under my socked feet, and it continued into the upper floor of the house. At the top of the steps, it was like a whole other living room. There were large windows at the front of the house, and the room seemed as though it would be very light and airy during the summer.

Temari turned right and cut down a wide hallway at the far end of the second living room, leading into a large room. The walls of this room were a bold ocean blue, and the furniture spread out throughout complimented it with shades of white and gray and black.

"I'll get you guys clothes, and you can change in here, if you want."

OoO

The party lasted until about two in the morning; that was when people started to lay down on that pretty white carpet in the basement. The guys had ended up wrestling on the ground, for which we had to move the coffee table. They had so much energy, and I kind of had to laugh to see them act like this.

Nobody told me that we would be bringing gifts here and exchanging them; or else I would have tried to get something for everybody.

_With what money?_ my conscious mind asked me. _What are you possibly going to buy for everybody with four dollars?_ It was true. I had spent all of my money on Naruto, not thinking that there would be an event like this.

Sakura had told me that it was okay; she said I had done enough for her whenever her and Sasuke first found out about the baby. But she had also given me an entire wardrobe; somehow the two acts evened out in her mind.

Sakura and Sasuke had given me a two hundred dollar universal gift card, which I could have collapsed at. Two hundred dollars, just for a single Christmas gift? Temari and Shikamaru gave Naruto and me that gag-gift that Sakura had been telling me about.

His T-shirt said: _Hinata was here_, and it pointed downwards. My tank read: _Naruto was here,_ and pointed in the same direction as his did; down. Both of our faces turned red and we allowed our gazes to fall to the floor, away from everybody. I remembered Sakura telling me that this is what she and Sasuke had done one year, but I wasn't expecting her to drop the hint to Temari. This was embarrassing.

Kiba gave me a basketball that had been signed by the team and by Tsunade, and he thanked me for stepping up and being team manager.

Lee gave me a glass music box that played a pretty tune; I wasn't sure what it was, but it was definitely beautiful.

Naruto and I turned to face one another, and we held each others hands. There was a deep breath coming not just from me, but from him as well. Was he as nervous as I was about giving gifts to one another?

"On the count of three?" he asked me, and I bit my lip and nodded hesitantly. What if he didn't like the bracelet I got him? Naruto took a deep inhale. "One..."

"Two..." I counted the second number, moving my hand into my jacket pocket and feeling the little box that Shikamaru had placed my gift for him in.

"Three!" we said together and we both whipped out little black boxes. So we had both gone with jewelry; great minds think alike. The two of us hesitated, holding our gifts to one another in tight clutches. Somehow, I mustered up the courage to outstretch my arms, bestowing Naruto his gift. He did the same, and we exchanged.

_Please, I hope you like it, Naruto_.

My fragile fingers moved under the lid of the box, and I slid it open to reveal a pulchritudinous moonlight tanzanite necklace. It shimmered in the artificial light from Temari's ceiling, and it was so stunning, I could have burst into tears.

Curious, my eyes flickered to Naruto, who held the bracelet in a single hand, gazing at the engravement on the flat pewter stone. My heart beat so fast, waiting to know if he liked it or not. My hands began to perspire as I clamped the box with the necklace in between them.

Naruto held the bracelet out to me, and that was when I came to the assumption that he didn't like it, and was giving it back to me. I stared at it for a long moment, terrified to touch it.

_I'm sorry._

Naruto grinned at me, and that was the only thing saving me from running to the bathroom in embarrassment and bawling my eyes out. I didn't know what he was smiling about, and so I just stared at him with an awkward gaze.

"You should put it on my wrist," he said, and continued to hold my gift to him out to me. A giant weight had been liberated from my heart as I placed my black box on my lap and constricted my fingers around the clasp of his bracelet. His skin was really warm in comparison to mine, and I snaked the bracelet around his wrist, clasping it together.

I held my necklace out to him, and he took it gingerly in his fingertips. He stood and moved around me, kneeling at my back. I lifted my hair up and held it at the top of my head, and I held my breath while he draped the beautiful necklace around my neck. It sat perfectly in the center of my chest, and it shined brighter than anything I have ever seen.

Still, from behind me, Naruto reached over my shoulder and grabbed my chin, turning my head to the side, where he kissed my lips slowly, but with a heated passion.

OoO

The year, after that, began flying at unbelievable speeds past my eyes. Winter break had ended almost as quickly as it had began, and I had moved in with Tenten. Her apartment was small, but it was cozy. There were only two rooms, so I didn't know where Neji would sleep whenever he was released from the hospital.

The two of us thought we had more time to think, but whenever we hit mid-January, Neji had been released, and was able to come home with us. Of course, I had brought all of Neji's belongings with me whenever I had moved in, and they still lay in bags and boxes in the corner of the room that I inhabited.

Neji had to wear a cast on his leg, but the metal bars were no longer jutting up from his flesh. That was a good sign. We didn't know how long he would have it casted, and how long he would be hobbling around on crutches, but I was thankful that he finally was able to come home...or to a home.

The day that he was able to leave, Tenten and I drove over to the hospital to pick him up, and I had signed release papers. Plus, we had to bring a change of clothes for him, because I doubt he would have wanted to putter down the hospital hallways in his garb.

It was so great to see him step out into the light of day, and when he did, I noticed that his first reaction was a deep breath and that he turned his eyes to the blue sky. I did the same, just gaped upwards towards the heavens, thanking God that Neji had made it.

"Hinata," he had said, turning a soft gaze towards me, his eyes - the eyes that resembled mine - locking onto mine. I turned my complete and undivided attention to my cousin, who, for the first time in such a long time, I saw smile. "Thank you for being strong."

I didn't know what he meant, and he didn't explain it to me, but I took that comment and I locked it in my heart. I would never forget that warm beam that had lifted his face.

Whenever we had returned to the apartment with Neji at our sides, we decided how everything was going to work; Tenten and Neji agreed that they could share the same bed. At first, I thought it promiscuous. However, I remembered that it was no different than Naruto and I falling asleep in each other's arms, so I didn't say anything. In complete honesty, I was so happy that Tenten had come back into Neji's life, because I believed that he would be able to live again. That was the most beautiful gift anyone could ever bestow upon another.

The game that had been the topic of controversy at Temari's Christmas party had come before that, and I was sad to say that Sand Valley achieved their victory. While our guys trash-talked Gaara and Kankuro - Kankuro had been the loudest one on the opposing end of the bleachers - I could tell that there was still respect in their voices. They were friends, and while I was still foreign to how the relationship between guys worked, I was becoming used to them bad-talking one another.

After the game, the guys and I went out to eat at a small Chinese restaurant, with a full buffet. The guys, of course, were in heaven, because they could eat until their hearts were content and their stomachs were full. Naruto and I sat next to one another, and we were completely happy to be able to hang out, outside of school, basketball, and work.

Because I no longer lived a few blocks away from Naruto, we didn't get to spend as much time together, and he certainly didn't get to sleep over with me at Tenten's apartment. He came over on the weekends sometimes, and I wished that he could stay the night, but I knew that Neji would never allow it.

Naruto and I tried to spend as much time together as possible. Due to the distance between us physically, I feel as though our relationship had grown in strength to make up for it. Sometimes, I would go over to his house, and we would play video games. Whenever Minato wasn't playing, we played against one another, and I won a few times. I'm sure, though, that Naruto let me win. On the other hand, sometimes Minato would join in, and Naruto and I would play as one character, his thumbs maneuvering mine swiftly across the controller.

Kushina would make us sandwiches whenever noon time came around, and we would try to balance eating and playing games at the same time.

Other times, we would go out with Sakura and Sasuke, who I could tell were content with the way things were. I felt as though they already held the parental love for their child, and this aspect caused my heart to warm. Maybe this pregnancy was good for them.

I couldn't wait to find out if it was a boy or a girl, and I also couldn't wait until he or she was born. I believe that their child would be so cute.

Spring rolled around, and it was so nice whenever the windows in the school were opened up. The sharp scent of freshly cut grass invaded my nostrils daily, and as the days flew passed, I began coming down with senior-itus. I didn't want to do anything school related, and I could see that it was infecting most of the senior class.

Shikamaru was lazier than ever - which I didn't think was even possible. But this time, I couldn't blame him. I doubt anybody in the senior class could; we were all antsy, waiting for the final months to pass by so that we could march down the aisle in our caps and gowns. It was the anticipated moment that none of us could wait for. After twelve long and infamous years of school, we were done and ready to get out.

The basketball season had ended with the guy's senior night, where the senior player was presented to the audience and escorted by chosen family and friends. Tsunade and I, along with the junior varsity team, presented the guys with small gifts as mementos of the time we had spent together in this sport. The little paper party bags were navy blue and we had tied them together with gray ribbon, representing Konoha High's colors.

While a part of me was filled with happiness to see the guys being escorted down the center of the gymnasium, I was also washed over with a sadness. Soon, we would all be graduating, separating from one another and going our separate ways. I had come to really enjoy the people on this team, and I think I may be a little lost without seeing them daily.

After the end of the winter sports and the rapidly incoming spring sports season, time flew by quickly, and prom swiftly became the hot topic amongst the senior class. I had actually never really given much thought to going, but now, I realized that I had friends that I could go with. I could go with Naruto, and we could hang out with everybody. I had never been to any school dance, actually, so this was all going to be new to me.

I had time, though, to think it through and look for a dress. I'd have to save money for a dress... I didn't even know where to start with this; dresses weren't necessarily my cup of tea, and I wasn't sure what would compliment my features and body type. Maybe I would ask Sakura to come along with me.

Thinking about Sakura, I wondered how she would be able to find a dress to fit her. I mean, she was beginning to show, and by the time prom rolled around in May, she would be quite round. I don't think they made maternity prom dresses, but then again, I wasn't entirely sure.

Sakura stopped wearing tight clothing all together. She would wear some of Sasuke's casual button-down shirts that hung loosely on her. I doubt most of the people at school knew about her being pregnant, and I feel as though it was best to keep it that way for as long as possible. This was something that she didn't need to be ridiculed for; rather, she and Sasuke were dealing with it quite maturely. They were excited, I could tell.

When it came down to it, I truly believed that the two of them in unison would make terrific parents, and would love their child to no end. Sasuke, though he could lack words and could be cold sometimes, I trusted that he would do everything in his power to protect both his child and Sakura, because he truly loved them.

I couldn't stop myself from thinking about it; I kept imagining if I was in their position. What if Naruto and I had a baby? I would love that child more than life itself.

_One day at a time, Hinata._ I reminded myself, knowing that our relationship was just getting started. I loved Naruto so dearly, and I was prepared to spend the rest of forever with him. I could do nothing more than hope that he felt the same way. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But I was prepared to wait for him. I love him.


	25. Chapter 25

_Chapter Twenty-Five_

Sakura and I were out at a dress store that I had never heard of before. The name was French, so I wasn't entirely sure how to pronounce it, and I wasn't going to try to, either. It was already May, and prom was in two weeks. We had been out at multiple dress stores within the past three weeks, but I never really found anything in my price range that really jumped out at me.

I noticed that Sakura's eyes would flicker to dresses that were hanging up, but she never bothered trying any on. She was seven months into her pregnancy, and her body was definitely filling out with the baby bulge. It was now impossible to hide the fact that she was pregnant, and everybody knew about it.

I looked through the dresses here, and all of them were at least one hundred and seventy dollars. The price stabbed me, and I took a deep breath. How was I supposed to find a dress that I could actually afford if they were all so expensive?

"Why aren't you trying any on?" I asked Sakura, and she turned glittering emerald eyes to me. Her hand rested on the top of her bump, and she sighed, glancing down at her growing baby.

"I don't think I'm going to prom," she said, and my eyebrows pulled together in disbelief. Sakura not going to prom? She had been talking about it ever since we started being friends in our junior year. Whenever we would go shopping, and she would see the dresses the stores had out, she would always say how she couldn't wait for prom. Now, it was finally here, and she wasn't going to go.

"Why not?" I asked, my voice straining in disbelief.

"He's getting too big," she said, and I stopped. She had never told me the gender of the baby, and that was the topic that stuck in my head. Was it the actual gender, or just using the word "he" so she wouldn't have to refer to her child as "it"?

"It's a boy?" I questioned her, mindlessly changing the subject that I had started. A tiny little grin snaked up the edges of her mouth, and her eyelashes fluttered.

"We're thinking about the name Senri," she commented, and I pondered the name. Senri Uchiha. If he would be taking Sasuke's name, rather than Sakura's. I'm pretty sure that's what Sakura would want.

"Senri wants you to go to prom," I told her, and she burst out laughing, holding a flat hand firmly on her expanded stomach. Her pink locks bounced as she laughed, and her entire face had lighten up.

"Senri's making me fat." Sakura turned around, her eyes skimming across dresses that she previously would have been able to wear and pull off. "There's no dress here that would be able to fit both of us in it."

"So what are you going to do the night of prom?" I interrogated her as she walked away from me, reaching into a dress rack and fishing through it. She tore through the big, fancy dresses, pushing them out of the way and searching for something. Maybe she was trying to look for a larger dress?

"Sasuke and I will probably throw the pre-dance-party, like we do for every school dance, but then we'll just stay back at his house whenever you guys leave," she murmured, her back still towards me. I did the same as she, and turned to dress racks, looking through to see if anything tickled my fancy. At these prices, nothing could possibly spark my interest. All that it did was remind me that I was practically poor.

I felt kind of bad for her, though. "I thought you wanted to be prom queen, and wanted Sasuke to be prom king."

"I did," Sakura let out a small breath, heavy with an evident sadness to that fact. "But some dreams you just have to let go of. Maybe you and Naruto will win it." She ripped out a royal purple dress from the rack that she was tearing apart. Holding it in my direction, her eyes flickered to me only once before they continued to skim around the dress shop. "Try this on," she demanded of me, and I stared at both her and the dress for a minute.

It was pretty, I had to admit. The top shimmered with crystal-like beads, and they reflected the light beautifully. The waist and bottom had a sheer effect, and tiered into layers as it flowed down to the floor. There weren't any straps that would hold it up on my body, and I was concerned that it would fall down.

"Excuse me," Sakura said to one of the ladies that was monitoring the small store, and she stopped in her tracks, coming over to us. "She wants to try this on."

The girl with the fire-engine-red hair nodded once and gently ripped the dress from Sakura's grasp. She started walking away, and Sakura stalked after, pushing me along. I didn't know exactly why we were following the worker into the back, where curtains were hung up everywhere. Sakura stopped in her tracks outside of the room, and I halted with her. She turned her eyes to me.

"Go on in there," she told me, and I glanced in the back room, where the lady was waiting inside of one of the curtained areas. Why was she in there, if I was supposed to be changing? My heart pounded in discomfort as I stepped in with the redhead, and I could feel the blood rush to my face when she told me to undress. I could put on the dress by myself; I didn't know why she was in here to help me.

But, of course, I was too shy to speak up and tell her that, so with shaky hands, I grasped the bottom of my shirt and peeled it off of my skin. While I was internally panicking about being partially naked in front of this stranger, she didn't blink an eye. I unbuttoned my jeans and slid them down my thighs, exposing the lacy undergarments that Sakura had given me with a wink on Valentine's day.

"You're going to need to take off your bra for this dress, sweetie," the lady told me, and my face burned brighter as I reached my hands behind my back and unhooked the only garment between my skin and the room around me. When my fingers flicked the clasp away, I let the straps slide off of my shoulders, exposing myself to the stranger. "Now step into the dress." She held the dress down at my shins, and I lifted my feet one at a time, and followed her order.

I almost lost my balance as I stepped into the dress, but I managed to keep myself from toppling over and ripping the garment. When both of my feet were planted firmly on the floor, the red headed woman pulled the top of the dress up to cover my breasts, and she began tying the back up, lacing me tightly into it.

While she did so, I held my hair up, so as not to allow the strands to get stuck in the corset back. My fingers brushed along the silver chain of the tanzanite necklace Naruto had given to me at Christmas time.

My torso felt completely compressed, and I doubted my ability to take in a breath without busting the seams. But I endured it as the lady threw the curtains open and had me walk out of the room to meet Sakura.

When Sakura glanced over, her eyes lit up immediately and her jaw dropped in awe. I didn't know what she made that face for, but it became evident as my friend and the stranger led me to the ceiling-to-floor mirror on the wall. This dress was completely and absolutely stunning, and it was my favorite color, at that. The way the dress formed to my body was pulchritudinous, and it accented my every curve in a way I had never seen clothing do. It exaggerated the fullness of my chest, and I think made my breasts look bigger than they actually were.

The little gems that were peppered across the torso glittered as the sunlight sparkled in through the window at my right side.

"Oh, Hinata," Sakura cooed at me, and I let my gray eyes flicker to her as a tiny, embarrassed smile crinkled up the sides of my face. "You have to get it. That dress was made for you."

"How much is it?" I asked, twisting around and searching for a price tag. I hoped that it would be cheap.

"That dress is on sale," the lady who had forced me to take my clothes off in front of her told me, and my spirits grew high as I waited for her to tell me the price. Eighty? Fifty? "Four seventy nine."

I stopped for a minute, my face dropping. I wasn't stupid, so I knew well enough that she wasn't saying four dollars and seventy nine cents.

"Okay," I said, "so what is it now, since it's on sale?" I asked, and both the stranger and Sakura turned their eyes to me as if I had missed something. I blinked twice and my eyes flashed between the two ladies.

"On sale, that dress is four-hundred seventy-nine dollars."

A stake ran through both my chest and my wristlet. I only had one hundred fifty dollars, and I still had the two hundred dollar gift card that Sakura and Sasuke had given to me for Christmas. Even still, that wouldn't get me to where I needed to be.

"How much do you have?" Sakura asked me, and I turned low eyes to her.

"In cash, a hundred fifty. I've got the gift card that you gave me. But it's still not enough." I began walking back into the room with the curtains, wanting nothing more than to take this dress off before something bad happened. It would be terrible if I tripped and fell, and ripped the dress. Then I would have to pay for it, and still wouldn't be able to wear it for prom.

Maybe I'll go check out the mission.

OoO

Naruto and I laid together on the couch in Tenten's apartment, staring up at the ceiling and just taking in one another's presence. We hadn't been able to see each other outside of school for over two week, because last weekend, he had to go to his cousin's wedding in some far off place that I had never heard of.

I guess it wasn't all that bad, because at the same time, I had had the spring instrumental concert to perform in. I hadn't had time to practice, so I wasn't up to my A-game, but nobody noticed. Naruto was mad, though, that he had to miss it. He had never heard me play my viola or my flute, and I never really found the time to show him.

"Prom is only a week away," Naruto murmured, his eyes never leaving the ceiling above us. Mine, too, traced the contours of the internal roof.

"Yeah," I sighed, still concerned about finding a dress. I had visited the missions around town, but found nothing that was a prom dress or could be altered into a prom dress.

"That means we graduate in three weeks."

_Oh, wow._ We were graduating in less than thirty days. I didn't know where the time had gone, but it seemed to be passing by without a single thought. In a little over three weeks, everybody I had come to know and really like will walk together down that grassy aisle, where we will receive our high school diplomas. From there, we will talk, reminisce, laugh, and maybe even cry, and then we will all turn around and go our separate ways.

I was a little sad to have to leave these people. Sakura and Sasuke, Shikamaru and Temari, Kiba, Choji; they had all found a place in my heart, and I wasn't ready to give them all up yet. Naruto; I definitely wasn't prepared to say goodbye to him. What would happen to us after graduation? Would we break up?

If Naruto went to college, then I would be left alone in this town, where I'd try to find a full-time position, either at the bookstore or somewhere else.

No matter what happened to me, I would always be praying for Naruto's safety and happiness, and for his success. I didn't care if I was unhappy, because I believe that if he is happy, then it's okay, right?

The room that shrouded us was completely tranquil, until I heard Neji yell out my name with an angry tone to his voice. Naruto and I jumped up off of the couch and met my fuming cousin face-to-face. In between his index finger and thumb, he held one of those treacherous condoms. Those things seemed to be more trouble than they're worth.

"What the hell have you been doing to my cousin?!" Neji shouted at Naruto, and I grasped Naruto's hand tightly.

"I didn't do anything," Naruto said honestly, and of course I knew he was telling the truth. However, Neji didn't believe him, and he threw a hard punch into Naruto's face, knocking him to his butt on the floor.

"Neji!" I shouted, aghast that he would do such an irrational thing. I bent over to grab Naruto's arm, helping him back to his feet. I feared that Naruto was going to strike my cousin back, but he didn't. He just stood there, looking into Neji's harsh glare.

"We didn't have sex," Naruto said, quite calmly, given the circumstance that he had just been stricken. Neji used his entire torso to whirl another fist into Naruto's face, hitting him in the eye.

"Don't you lie to me, asshole!"

I had never seen Neji this angry before, and to be completely honest, he kind of scared me a little bit. Typically, he held his frustration inside his body, and never allowed anybody to see it bubble and boil. But now, it was as if all of the animosity that he had ever bottled up within him was being unleashed, and Naruto just happened to be in the crossfire.

I wanted Naruto to stay down, so that Neji couldn't hit him quite as easily, but he didn't do as I wished. Rather, he strongly pushed himself upwards, returning to his feet. There was blood that had splattered out of his nose, and it stained his right cheek. His left eye was pink, and I knew that it would probably turn purple before the day came to a close. But despite all that, he didn't lose his cool, and he didn't return a punch to Neji.

"We didn't have sex," Naruto repeated himself, and I closed my eyes. I didn't know if I could take seeing Neji hurt Naruto another time. I had to do something.

Right as Neji was bringing his fist backwards to buffet Naruto for a third time, I realized that I had to stop this madness. I stepped in between Neji and Naruto, and I shielded my love from my cousin's rage. However, Neji's kinetic energy was at the point of no return; his knuckles collided brutally with my left cheek. Instantly, I felt a shock of pain electrocute my nerves and I let out a small cry as I fell to the floor at Naruto's feet.

Instantly, Naruto and Neji turned their attention to me, and their concern changed the mood of the atmosphere completely.

"Hinata!" They had both called in unison, and Naruto fell down onto one knee, using his hands to prop my back up. An aching pain was left tingling in my cheek, and I touched my hand to my face warily. The tiniest touch of my fingertips caused my skin to go numb.

"Hinata, are you okay?!" Naruto shouted.

"Why did you get in the way, Hinata?" Neji spoke and dropped to both of his knees in front of me, caressing my jaw in both of his hands and looking me straight in the eye. His anger was still there, but it had quickly been diluted with fear for me.

"You wouldn't have stopped if I didn't," I murmured, and Neji's eyebrows pulled together. He let his eyelids slip over his pupils and then he took in a deep breath.

"You didn't have to take the hit-"

"You wouldn't have listened to us if I didn't!" I interrupted boldly, and I could feel Naruto's hands clench at my back. The bone of my cheek experienced a rapid pulsing feeling, and I think that it may leave a bad bruise. Neji's face twisted with irritation and humiliation, and I noticed the sides of his mouth twitch.

Both of the boys around me were silent, not saying a single word, because both of them knew that I was right. I knew I was right. Neji would have never stopped pounding on Naruto, because he didn't want to be lied to. However, it is true that Naruto wasn't lying. We had never had sex, and we weren't planning on it in the near future.

The door to the apartment opened, and Tenten walked in, carrying a large paper bag. The moment she stepped into the room, she dug her heels into the floor, coming to a halt. Her head cocked, and her facial features fell with displeasure. She had dealt with issues with guys before, I knew, because she had to put up with Lee and Neji all through middle school. I sort of felt bad that she had to come home to us - we were seriously a train wreck right this very moment.

A small groan emerged from deep within her throat. "What the hell happened?"


	26. Chapter 26

_Chapter Twenty-Six_

"I'm sorry, Neji, but I'm going to have to side with Hinata," Tenten said to Neji after I had explained everything. I told them about Sakura's pregnancy, and Naruto's fear of us accidently going too far, and my getting pregnant. However, when I told this story, I said that it was both of our concern, not just his. I said that I didn't want to spontaneously be with child after one time that may not have been the right time.

The four of us sat on stools at the island in the kitchen, talking seriously with one another about the present issue and any future complications. Neji and Tenten sat on one side, with their backs to the door, and Naruto and I were seated on the other, embracing hands under the surface of the table. It was the only way for us to calm one another down, and with the locking of our hands, we - or at least I - knew that we were in this together.

Neji was fuming next to Tenten, and I could almost see the steam rising off of his flesh. He was not happy about the idea of sex between Naruto and me, and I doubt he would feel that great about it no matter who the other guy was.

I couldn't blame him, though. I mean, I could just as easily end up in Sakura's position, with a baby growing in me. While in the future, I wouldn't entirely mind, right now just wasn't the best time, and I think Naruto understood that.

"I mean, I always keep one in my wallet," Tenten admitted. "There's a spare box in my room, too." Neji's eyes turned to her, completely and utterly dumbfounded by this secret that she had just revealed to him.

Was Tenten expecting something to happen between her and Neji? I couldn't help but ponder the possibility of my cousin and this girl becoming in a physical relationship. While I tried to keep my mind out of the details, I found it kind of nice, because they had finally made up after four years. I sort of hoped that they would, because I think it may be a good thing for Neji. I believe that he needs to feel the closeness of another person, both physical and emotional.

"You never know when something is going to spark, you know," Tenten continued. "I mean, it could be anybody. If you get a passionate flame going, you definitely want to be prepared. Especially if you're a girl; the girl is the one who could suffer the most from carelessness."

"Tenten, you can't possibly expect me to allow my little cousin to keep condoms with her." Neji's hands turned to fists on the surface of the island, and his complete attention was on Tenten, who compressed her hands snuggly between her thighs and the stool she sat on.

"You're not gonna like what I have to say next, Neji," she warned him, and my curiosity was spiked. What was she going to say to Neji? It would probably be completely and utterly embarrassing. "If they really wanted to have sex, then they're gonna do it, with or without the protection." Yes, that was enough to make my face flush red, and I turned my eyes to the surface of the table, meeting nobody's gaze. "Now which would you prefer?"

"But what if she messes up her life?" Neji shouted. "What if she does get pregnant?"

"Honestly, Neji!" Tenten removed her hands from under her and grasped the hair of her fringe. "I don't see how her life could get messed up. She already knows that she can't afford college. You know that too! If she gets pregnant, she'll have a baby. She won't mess up any schooling - she can't."

Yes, I already accepted the fact that I would not be able to attend college, and I had given up on that dream. In complete honesty, once we graduated, I wouldn't mind if Naruto and I got married and had children together. I care about Naruto so much that I believe carrying his child would be an honor and a blessing. I would do anything for him.

"That doesn't mean she still can't get a decent job!" Neji flung a retort back at his...well, I wasn't really sure what he and Tenten were. Were they friends, were they something more? Nobody really ever told me.

"I didn't say she couldn't!" Tenten slapped the table. "But having a baby won't fire her from her job!"

"Then how do you propose she takes care of him?!"

"She has maternity leave, you know! She has the baby and takes care of him, then finds a babysitter - like you, parsay - to watch him while she works."

Why did their conversation switch to present tense? It wasn't like I was pregnant right now, and it wasn't like I had a spectacular job, either. Naruto and I haven't even had sex yet, for Pete's sake!

"I feel really bad for this kid!" Neji continued his argument with Tenten. "He gets abandoned by his parents so they can work!"

"His parents are working so they can give him nice things!"

I turned my attention to Naruto, whose face was dark with bruises everywhere. He exchanged the same glance of confusion with me, and I licked my lips before speaking.

"When did we have a kid?" I asked him, my voice so soft that neither Neji or Tenten had heard me make a comment. Naruto brought our conjoined hands up to his face and he kissed the top of my hand.

"When did we have a son?" he replied with a snicker. It was true, though. Not only were the two of them giving us a child, they had already decided on the gender, too. I didn't know why they were arguing about something that hasn't even happened yet; not to mention that it may be far from happening.

But, actually... This whole thing had gotten me thinking about so many things, and I couldn't help but wonder; maybe becoming physical with Naruto wasn't such a bad thing. I mean, I certainly wasn't going anywhere. I would stay with Naruto, by his side, until the end. The only thing I could do is hope and pray that he felt the same way.

I didn't even know why Neji was so flustered right now. After having time to think about it, I realized that I'm eighteen; I'm a legal adult. Neji had no say in what I did or what I will do. Like Tenten had said: he couldn't stop us if we really and truly wished to engage in amorous activities.

A part of me scolded me for thinking rebellious thoughts, and demanded that I side with Neji. The other part of me - of course, the one that overpowered - told me that I needed to do what my heart desired. If I felt it in my heart that I desired Naruto in such an intimate way, then I should pursue that wish. And I did.

It was funny. If someone would have told me last year that I would be sitting here now and debating whether or not to have sex with Naruto, I would have told them they're in the wrong universe. I mean, we were only friends last year, and the year before that, he didn't even know that I walked on the same planet as him, and breathed the same air as he breathed.

"Um, guys?" I spoke up quietly, trying to interrupt Neji and Tenten's bickering, but of course, neither of them could hear my little voice. Despite that fact, I continued to try to stop their fighting about Naruto's and my nonexistent child. "Hey, Neji?" I said, but he continued to retort to everything that Tenten had to say.

"Like I'd allow poor Usui to live on the streets like some homeless person!" Neji said, and I didn't know how far this argument had escalated. But now our nonexistent son was named. Apparently, Naruto and I have a son named Usui.

"Tenten?" I looked to the tomboy to hear me and quit fighting with my cousin. We were on the same side, so she had to hear me, right?"

"So you're saying you'd take care of Usui if his parents couldn't!" Tenten shouted, throwing her hands up in the air. "Finally! Thank you for admitting my first point!"

I sighed and blew air up at my bangs, propelling them above my forehead. This was hopeless; _they_ were hopeless.

"Do you think they'd notice if we just got up and left?" Naruto asked me, and I turned my eyes to him. In complete honesty, I don't think the two of them would notice if an earthquake or a nuclear bomb struck the apartment.

"I hope they don't fight like this around our son, Usui," I said and smiled a little bit, cracking a joke. Naruto laughed and leaned in to kiss my cheek. We rocked back and forth slightly on the stools, his hand caressing my thigh, my fingers entwined with the belt loops on his jeans.

"If Usui starts to act like your cousin, we're gonna have to ground him for awhile." Naruto said, and I giggled a little bit.

"Would we be able to resist his little face?" I asked. "I'll bet that he'd be such a cute little boy, with the best puppy-dog eyes."

"Don't worry. He's beautiful," Naruto murmured and removed his hand from my thigh, grasping my hand again and pressing our conjoined hands to his chest. "He looks just like his mother."

My mouth opened only slightly and a quick, minute breath was sucked into my lungs. That may have been the most heartwarming thing anybody has ever said to me.

Any doubts that I had had a few minutes ago dwindled away into nothing, and I knew that if I had come to an intense passion with Naruto, I wouldn't stop him. I was ready when he was ready.

OoO

I was sitting on my bed, writing out a reply to Lee's most recent letter. There was nothing super glamorous about our current topic. He was telling me about how his classes were going, and I would write back, giving him my best and wishing him the best luck that I could possibly bestow to him.

There was a knock on my door, and I glanced up to see Tenten step into the room with that brown paper bag in her hands. She forced a smile onto her face, and she made an effort to silently apologize for giving me a son this afternoon.

"Hey, Hinata, I didn't get a chance to give this to you," she said and placed the bag on the foot of my bed. Of course, she had sparked my curiosity, so I abandoned my letter to Lee and scooted forwards. She reached into its depths and grasped something, fishing it out of the bag with caution.

What she pulled out was beautiful. The violet material glistened in the artificial light that came from my bedside lamp, and the little beads that peppered the torso sparkled. It wasn't the same dress that I had tried on at that expensive place with the name I couldn't pronounce. But it seemed to have the same basic concept. The bottom of the dress was ballroom-style, with parts of the material pinched up to add a poofy feeling to it.

My jaw dropped at its dazzling beauty.

"You like it?" Tenten grinned, accomplished. I had no words; instead, I moved onto my knees and crawled closer to the dress that looked really expensive.

"Where did you find this?" I asked her, running my fingers over the satin material. It felt like the dress that I had tried on. If the same material was used, wouldn't it be the same price as that one?

"A friend of mine wore it to our prom. She kept it in her closet ever since, and when Sakura dropped you off after dress shopping, I stopped and talked to her. She told me about this dress that you tried on and really liked, but explained that it was about five hundred dollars on sale. While she was describing this dress, I thought of this one, and so I went to pay my friend a visit today. I told her about you, and asked if you could borrow it. She was more than happy to lend out a helping hand."

I was at a loss for words. There were no words in the English language to describe how grateful I was for this friend and for Tenten. I was so happy that I had a prom dress, and it was still my favorite color.

"Anyways," Tenten reached backwards to scratch her head, "sorry about this afternoon. I think both Neji and I got a little out of hand."

"That's okay," I said, nodding and turning my eyes to her. "You were defending my side, so I can't argue too much." The room was quiet for a few moments after that, and I thought about what she had said earlier about women wanting to be prepared, because we never know when passion will burst into flames. "Hey, Tenten?" I started, wondering if I should ask this question or not.

"Hmm?"

"Did something like that ever happen to you? I mean, being in the moment and not being prepared?" I asked, and it took her some long seconds to absorb what I was asking her. When it clicked in her head, her eyes grew wide and her eyebrows rose.

"Oh, well," she moved to sit next to me on my bed, "yeah, it did." She took a deep breath and pulled her legs up onto the surface of my comforter. "With Lee, actually," she said, embarrassed.

"With Lee?" I had to ask, entirely dumbfounded by this fact.

"Yeah. We dated for a little bit in junior and senior year, and we ended up going to the prom together. I remember that night like it was only yesterday. We had gone to prom, and it was such a great time, and then we went to an after party at one of our peer's houses. It was completely crazy; people were drinking and acting like animals.

"Lee and I stayed completely sober, and when we decided that the nature of the party was becoming too intense for us, we decided to find a quiet spot two floors above the party. We sat in the furnished attic and started kissing. Soon enough, he was on top of me, and my back was against the hard floor.

"One thing led to another, and Lee and I ended up having unprotected sex together on that floor. I'm not gonna lie; it hurt. But that wasn't the worst part.

"After it was all said and done, and we finished, I felt terrible. It was then that I realized that I didn't love Lee. I mean, of course I loved him, but not in the way that I should have. It was then that I realized that I still loved Neji. I had never let go of him, even after all of high school had passed, and it took sleeping with Lee - my best friend - to come to this understanding.

"I knew that I had to be completely honest with Lee about this. I told him the next time that we were alone together, and I felt like such an evil person for stringing him along for over a year. But I did tell him that I was still in love with Neji. I could tell that he was upset, but he understood how I felt, and he was able to let me go.

"We stayed friends, despite the awkwardness of it. But after graduation, we sort of lost touch with one another, and we went our separate ways."

I had never imagined that there would have been a love triangle between Neji, Lee and Tenten. That must have been the reason why Lee really didn't want to go see Neji; he was still upset that he had lost Tenten to him. I had no idea, and I had reminded Lee on more than one occasion about the pain he must have felt whenever Tenten admitted her feelings for him weren't true. I was such a terrible person...

I wanted to apologize, but I couldn't without picking at those scabs of his, and I didn't want to reopen those wounds. There was no way for me to ask for his forgiveness.

"Please, don't tell Neji about that," Tenten told me, and my eyes flickered to her. "I don't want him feeling weird that Lee had had me first."

"I won't tell," I told her. "I promise."

"Thank you." Tenten placed her hands in her lap for a moment while she collected some thoughts. "If you and Naruto do ever have sex together, please just make sure you both are ready for it. It can really hurt emotionally if one or both of you haven't been properly prepared."

I blinked at her, seeing a whole different side of Tenten. I bit the inside of my bottom lip as I took in and absorbed what she was telling me.

"Were you not ready?" I asked her, and she shook her head, a sorrowful and regretful look shining in her chocolate eyes.

"No. I thought I was, and if I had been over Neji, I think I would have been ready. But because I was still in love with your cousin, I couldn't bring myself to lie to Lee. He didn't deserve to receive forced affection. He deserved someone who could love him and only him.

"I was already broken, and I had been broken since that summer going into high school. I just never knew it until I had intimate relations with Lee that night."

This was a really awkward question, but since she was pouring herself out to me, I felt as though I should ask. "Do you want to have a physical relationship with Neji?"

"Do I want one? Definitely, yes. I would be the happiest woman alive if we embraced. But can I wait for him? Of course. It's not like I'm going to go out and find someone else to sleep with. I would never put myself through the regret, or put someone else through the heartache."

"Can I ask you a question?" I asked Tenten seriously, and her kind gaze came upon mine as I squeezed my hands together in my lap. I breathed in a lungful of air and exhaled it slowly, taking in all the oxygen I could. Hopefully, oxygen would be enough to give me the courage to ask. "Would Neji hate me if Naruto and I did end up becoming physical?"

"What?" Tenten said, leaning forwards to stare me in the eye. "Hinata, listen to me. No matter what you do, Neji could never hate you. He'd be quite upset about it, but life goes on." She told me before leaning back to a comfortable, half-slouched position. "Why do you ask?"

"Because," I started, and I thought about how much I loved Naruto. I was prepared to spend the rest of my life with him, and I wanted nothing but his happiness. My heart beat only for him, and I feel as though I was born to stand by his side.

I thought about how I had built the courage to stand between Naruto and Neji earlier today, and how I had received quite a punch to the face. From that split second onward, I knew that I wanted to protect Naruto with everything I had. Because I love him.

"I've been considering having sex with Naruto."


	27. Chapter 27

_Chapter Twenty-Seven_

I sat on the lid of Sasuke's toilet, being made up like a doll by Sakura. Her big baby tummy was huge, and I couldn't keep my eyes off of it. All I could think of was the fact that there was a third life with us in this room, and the feeling just warmed my heart. She would be having her son within two months, and to be completely honest, I was so excited! I couldn't wait until baby Senri Uchiha was born!

I was still a little upset that Sakura wasn't going to prom tonight. She had been looking forward to it for so long - way longer than I had - and she couldn't go because of how far into her pregnancy she was. Little Senri was preventing his mom from going to her only high school prom.

Sakura applied this shade of purple eyeshadow to my eye that was a little lighter than my dress. She had so much makeup in her room, that I just had to wonder how much it all had cost her. Makeup was expensive, and she had a ton. I wasn't arguing with the fact, because she had a wide selection, and she could make me beautiful for Naruto tonight.

With the dress that Tenten had given me, there was also a tie that matched, and Naruto had agreed to wear whatever I wanted him to wear. He hadn't seen my dress yet, and so he didn't even know what I was going to be wearing for the night. I hoped he liked it.

"You excited?" Sakura asked me with a smile as she matted more eyeshadow on my lids. I didn't know how I was going to look by the time she was done, but I hoped that I would be pretty, and that Naruto would think the same.

"Extremely," I said with a wide grin on my face, and though my eyes were closed, I could hear the smile that Sakura returned to me. We had been sitting in Sasuke's bathroom for almost two hours, because Sakura had insisted on doing everything before the party started. She had already curled my hair and teased it, then pulled it around to my right shoulder and twisted it. I think we had gone through a complete can of hairspray on my hair. I didn't know what it looked like, but I felt like it was pretty.

"Are you and Naruto doing anything special afterwards?" she asked me, and all of a sudden, I remembered the story that Tenten had told me about her and Lee. Was Sakura hinting the same thing?

"I don't know. We haven't really talked about it yet." In both terms, we had not talked about events after prom, and we haven't really talked about seriously having sex together. I mean, of course it had been mentioned before, but we had never planned on actually going through with it. I began to wonder if it would happen tonight. I had that single condom in my wristlet, just in case. I had asked Tenten if I should bring it, and she said that she strongly advised it.

"Just be careful, whatever you do." Sakura stood back and examined me with satisfaction. My eyelashes fluttered as I allowed my eyelids to slide upwards. The moment I did, Sakura grinned and put a hand on her hip, clearly impressed with her work.

"Can I look now?" I asked her with a little grin plastered on my face, and she nodded towards the huge mirror that stretched across the back of Sasuke's bathroom sink. I stood up, being completely careful not to rip the dress that Tenten's friend was gracious enough to lend to me, and I moved in front of the sink, almost dropping my mouth in awe. This was _me_?

The dark purple eyeshadow that was smeared professionally across the tops of my eyelids made my gray eyes pop, and really exaggerated the lightness of my irises. Underneath my eye, she had applied some liquid eyeliner to balance out the top and bottom, and I began to think that maybe I should invest in some makeup.

My hair was big at the top, and it was beautiful. Literally, it looked like feathers on top of my head, soft and flowing free. I never really knew that my hair could look this way; I never knew that _I_ could look this way. Pretty, beautiful. Unlike myself. I touched my hands to my hair, puffing it upwards and smiling in the mirror.

"Sakura, how did you do this?" I asked her, obsessed with how big my hair was. I didn't even know that I had this much hair. It was so cute!

"I teased it," she said, pulling out a comb with many teeth on it and showing it to me. The teeth were more like bristles on a toothbrush, rather than the typical plastic ones on the brush that I owned. I still actually didn't know what teasing meant, and I sure didn't know how it made my hair so big. "You like it?"

"I love it!" I turned around and constricted my arms around her shoulders, giving her a silent thanks for everything she did for me tonight. At my stomach, I could feel something - a very minute something - touch me, and both Sakura and I turned our eyes to Senri.

"He's practicing to be a boxer," Sakura laughed and caressed her beloved unborn child. I pressed my hand to her naval, and I could feel him kicking around inside of my friend. I had never felt anything like it, and it was a truly miraculous feeling. There was life.

"Be careful tonight, Hinata," Sakura told me in a very serious tone, and my eyes flickered up to her. "I know a lot of people end up having sex after prom. Just be careful, and stay smart."

So we had been talking about the same thing; she was concerned that Naruto and I were going to have sex tonight, and that I was going to end up in her position. Despite the fact that she loved Senri deeply, I could tell that she didn't want me to get pregnant in - or right out of - high school.

"I will," I said and nodded. On a lighter note, I added, "Naruto and I apparently already have a son." Sakura cocked her head, and I laughed a little bit. "Neji found the condoms last week, and he and Tenten got into an argument because she was on my side. One thing led to another, and they gave us a son named Usui."

Sakura let out a quick burst of laughter. "What? Why?"

"I don't know," I said, and I heard the doorbell ring. Both Sakura and I turned to the hallway, and we perceived Naruto's voice coming from the main room. My heart skipped a beat as I realized that he was going to see me like this for the very first time. I took a deep breath to prevent myself from sweating off the makeup that Sakura spent so much time applying to my face.

Quickly, I slipped my feet into my black Mary Janes and strapped the triple straps, attaching them to the top of my foot. My hands trembled as I did so, and I glanced up at Sakura, who was putting some of the beauty supplies, that she kept in the top of her yoga pants, on the sink.

She grasped both of my hands and glanced at my dark purple-painted nails. "Are you ready?" she asked me with a wide-eyed grin on her face. Together, we took a deep breath before I nodded, and then she led me out of the bathroom, escorting me down the long, carpeted hallway.

I could hear Naruto and Sasuke's voices as they talked, and I grew even more nervous as I came to the realization that this was actually happening. Naruto and I were going to prom together as a couple. This had only happened in my dreams, and I never thought that it would become reality. The fact that it did was scary. For a moment, I doubted if I was ready to embrace this dream, but I forced myself forward. I only got one chance to make this one come true; I had to take it.

I focused my attention on my steps, which were carefully placed so that my ankles wouldn't roll whenever the plush carpet gave way under my heels. Sakura had my hand and was leading me along, so I was able to close my eyes and really try to calm my nerves.

Every step we took, I knew we were one step closer to Naruto, and I feared that he might not think I look pretty. There was always some kind of fear of not being accepted rattling around inside my body, and sometimes I just wanted to shout at it, tell it to stop. I wanted to look confident tonight. I wanted only Naruto to see me, and I wanted to see nobody but Naruto.

I saw Sasuke in the main room with the red couches, and I noticed him glance over in our direction when he saw us coming out of his peripherals. Naruto moved next to Sasuke to see Sakura and me walking down the hall together.

He looked...rather spiffy. With a classic black tuxedo, Naruto stood with a dozen roses in his hand. His undershirt blended in with his suit, and I imagined the dark purple tie around his neck, matching us and signifying that we were at the party together.

Both of us blushed upon seeing one another, and Sakura let go of my hand whenever we reached the main room. She constricted the purple satin around Naruto's throat and began tying it under the cuff of his dress shirt. I bit my lip as we continued to stare at one another with such passion.

At that very moment, I knew that if something sparked between us after prom, I wouldn't be able to stop myself. I would let it happen, and I wouldn't regret a single moment. I'm in love with Naruto, and I have eyes for only Naruto.

"Wow...Hinata," Naruto commented with a shy smile, shaking his head slowly. "I mean..._wow_." Of course, his lack of words did not make me any less shy, and I could feel my blood burning under the flesh of my cheeks. His eyes lit up whenever he realized that he was still holding the bundle of roses, and he shoved them out awkwardly to me. "These are for you."

Even more awkwardly, I reached out and cradled them in my arms like a pageant girl. "Thank you," was all I could say, and a tiny, reserved smile crinkled at the ends of my lips. To be honest, I didn't entirely know why I was so shy right now. It was just Naruto; it was just the same person that I had been intimately sharing my life with for six months; the same person that I had been friends with for almost a year and six months.

"Well don't be strangers," Sakura said, nudging me forwards. "You two act like this is the first time you're seeing each other."

Naruto took a single step towards me, reached out, and grasped my hand. He tugged me gingerly, pulling me close enough to where he could lean down and kiss my lips. My heart pounded faster than the speed of light, and my skin underneath his touch tingled. I could have swooned, but I gripped reality and hung on for dear life.

"You look beautiful, Hinata," he murmured and flashed a tender smile at me. I was going to have to work extra hard if I didn't want to faint tonight.

The door to our left opened up from the outside, and Kiba came in, dressed in a suit. His hair was still everywhere, but it looked decent. I don't think I had ever seen him look so spiffy before. He was solo, and I wondered if he had a date for tonight.

"Hey, guys!" He shouted, and immediately, the Uchiha condo grew loud and built up energy. His eyes flickered to me and his eyebrows raised. "Damn, Hinata!"

"Just keep your eyes in your head, Kiba," Naruto muttered and wrapped his arm around my back, holding my hip protectively. I could feel the jealousy radiating off of him, and I got a warm feeling inside. He didn't seem to like the fact that another man found me attractive.

"Do you have a date tonight, Kiba?" I asked him, shoving myself out of my comfort zone and forcing myself to be a part of the group.

Kiba laughed out loud and placed a single hand on his hip. "Like I'd tie myself down to one lady," he said in a cocky tone. "Now, c'mon, Hinata. That would be cruel to the poor ladies."

"Just be careful," Sasuke grunted before stalking off into the kitchen, the rest of us following him closely. Itachi was sitting at the large island in the center of the huge kitchen, drinking some sort of alcohol.

"I know, I know, I don't want to be in your situation," he rambled, talking about the fact that Sasuke was going to be a father in less than two months.

"You say it like it's a bad thing." Sakura folded her arms and lifted herself onto her tiptoes, placing her rear end on a barstool. The rest of the party had followed her lead, and I sat down beside Itachi, who smiled at me compassionately. "You think that this baby is a curse, when in actuality, Senri is such a blessing." Sakura stole a glance at her lover. "I think he brought Sasuke and I closer together."

Naruto sat at my other side, scooting his stool over closer to my side. He seemed to be tense, and I didn't know why. Kiba was no longer gawking, and the rest of us were just sitting around and talking. I really couldn't figure out the reason behind his stiffness.

"Could I get you anything, Hinata?" Itachi asked me, and my eyes flickered over to him. I felt as if I was staring into the eyes of Sasuke, only his were soft and caring. "Would you like something to drink?"

Actually, I was a little thirsty from being in the bathroom all afternoon, but I couldn't bring myself to ask him to get anything for me.

"No, I think I'm okay for right now," I said with a grateful tone in my voice. "Thank you, though, for asking." He was so nice. I really liked Sasuke's older brother; he was classy.

Naruto's hand on my knee clenched, and I turned my eyes to him, who didn't look in my direction; rather, he continued to watch as Sakura and Kiba talked. I didn't know why he was acting this way; Kiba wasn't even paying attention to me anymore.

As a reinforcement measure, I leaned over and pecked a kiss on his cheek. This made him acknowledge me, and he turned his head around to face me. For a moment, we had a little, private conversation that required no words. I was wondering if he was okay, and my eyes grew as I begged him to tell me the truth. He let his gaze fall to his hand, which stroked the flesh in between my knee and my mid-thigh. He shook his head, refusing to tell me, and I placed both of my hands on his one, stealing another kiss from him.

_I love you._

I relayed the message to him with a tender gaze, and he glanced up at me through his eyelashes. I beamed at him and closed my eyes. I wasn't expecting him to, but Naruto pilfered a peck from my lips.

The doorbell rang, and all of us turned in the direction of the front door. Itachi got up off of his barstool and began strutting out of the kitchen. Kiba, Sakura and Sasuke went back to having their conversation, and Naruto and I joined them. I didn't entirely know what they were talking about, and I couldn't seem to focus on the conversation. All I could think about was the story Tenten had told me.

I thought about everything she had told me; how she regretted stringing Lee along when she was unconsciously still in love with Neji. She had been so upset with herself for realizing that too late, and ultimately had to hurt Lee.

If that had happened, and Naruto had realized that he was in love with somebody else, I would be so sad. My heart would break and shatter into sharp shards that would scatter on the floor. I would still love him, though. It didn't matter what he would ever do to me; I would still love him.

So I would let him go.

Shikamaru and Temari stepped into the kitchen, dressed beautifully. Temari was striking; her Venetian red dress was covered in sequins at the top, and she glittered in the sunlight that sparkled through Sasuke's kitchen window. It was a mermaid style dress that was completely form-fitting at the top, and then poofed out a few inches above her knees. The concentration of sequins began to thin out with the poof, and then there were only a few peppered throughout the very bottom.

Her blonde hair was softly curled, resembling a 1950's Marilyn Monroe hairstyle. It was classic, and if I had to say, Temari could pull it off.

Her lips were painted red, and she had only a minute amount of eyeliner around her eyes. Truly, she was beautiful.

"Oh my gosh, is that Hinata?" she questioned with a smirk on her face. Whenever I blushed, she knew it was definitely me. "You look gorgeous, sweetie! Sakura did a good job on you."

That was nice. Typically, Temari could be snarky and be very blunt about her comments. So, that meant she really and truly thought I looked pretty. It made me so happy that other people thought I looked beautiful. While the only opinion that really mattered to me was Naruto's, the compliments from other people made me feel good inside. They made me feel confident.

Shikamaru's black suit was accompanied by a blood red tie that matched his date's dress, and I figured that the idea of matching was a prom tradition. I had no idea.

Right behind Shikamaru and Temari came Choji, who escorted Ino Yamanaka into the kitchen. I almost had to double take; Choji and _Ino_? That was a pair I had never expected to see in a million years.

Ino's dress was the same shade of purple as mine was, but it was completely different from the one that I was laced up in. The top of hers was sweetheart shaped, really exaggerating her full breasts. I almost felt inferior to her in that department. All around, the dress was form-fitting, highlighting her curvy body. At the hip, a diamond-shaped pin held the satin at her left side, creating a rippling effect as it flowed down her legs. It was long enough to cover the tops of her feet, but her black painted nails peaked out from underneath.

As a whole, Ino looked elegant. She definitely picked out a dress that she could pull off.

Her long, bleach blonde locks were pulled up into a bun on the top of her head, and a few strands were left to fall down around the sides of her face.

Now that there were two other beautiful women in the room, I felt completely inferior to them. They were both eye-catchers, and I think that a lot of guys would be drawn to them.

Naruto leaned in closer to me to touch his mouth to my ear. "You're the most beautiful lady in this room," he murmured to me, causing me to blush. "You'll be the most stunning girl at prom tonight. I guarantee it." He kissed my cheek lovingly. "I love you."

"The pizza's here," Itachi called out as he came back into the kitchen with two boxes of pizza cradled in his arms. The cheesy scent wafted into my nostrils and made my mouth water profusely. I didn't really realize how hungry I was until I could smell food. Sasuke left the island as Itachi placed the food on the table. They both went to the refrigerator and began grabbing out glass dishes of sliced apples and carrots. Sasuke handed his brother the dishes, and Itachi transferred them over to the island. Then came out homemade Rice Krispie treats, then a little bowl of mints.

Dinner was served, and the guests in the Uchiha condo did not hold back on feasting.


	28. Chapter 28

_Chapter Twenty-Eight_

The decorations inside the Konoha country club were almost too incredible to be reality. There were green and purple balloons scattered across the floor everywhere, and masquerade masks were hung up around the walls. Double stairs that were used as decoration sat at the end of the room, and I think that was where the couples would take their prom pictures. The walls were completely plastered in purple paint, and jester hats decorated the tables. These hats were different, though. Where the jingling bells usually attached, there were candles that were lit. The tables under the hats were the same pale green as the balloons on the floor.

I had never seen anything so extravagant in my life, and I had immediately gotten excited about being here. Naruto gripped my hand, and we stepped into the room together, greeted by the blasting stereos belonging to the DJ. Besides candles and random decorative lights scattered about the room, it was dark. I wasn't sure if that was how other dances were, but I also didn't question the artistic masterpiece of the room.

Naruto turned his eyes to me and his entire face lit up. I was so happy to be here with him, that I couldn't contain myself; I burst out laughing and I squeezed his hand. He bent down - he didn't have to bend too far while I was in my heels - and kissed the side of my mouth. We both grinned as if we had no idea what was going on.

Shikamaru and Temari, Kiba, and Choji and Ino followed us into the country club only moments after our entering. Ino stopped, her arms wrapped around a single arm of her date, and she examined the decor that I had found phenomenal. I could tell that she wasn't as impressed as I was, but she didn't necessarily look disappointed.

"School dances are such a drag," Shikamaru muttered, only to get a glare from Temari. Even though she looked like a goddess, the glower she gave him reminded me that she was still Temari.

"I told you: this is your senior prom. I didn't want you to miss it."

Shikamaru turned to his date, and the two of them began to bicker like an old married couple. Naruto and I moved away from them, so that their mood wouldn't ruin the party.

Naruto held my hand and led me to the center of the dance floor, where Kiba was already wrapped around the arms of a girl who had also gone stag. He gave me a thumbs up behind the girls back and winked, and I watched as Naruto rolled his eyes.

He turned his gaze to me and placed both hands on my hips. I had never danced with a man before, and so I didn't really know what to do. I used what I had seen in movies, and I constricted both of my arms around his throat, holding them together by interlocking my fingers at the base of his neck. He was leading the steps, and they were very minute steps. It was almost like miniature marching while revolving in a circle.

My heart pounded so loudly as we were both silent, simply gazing into one another's eyes. His ocean eyes captivated me where I stood, and I could have been lost at sea. I breathed in his scent, and his manly cologne wafted through my senses, engulfing me in him. I didn't ever want that smell to leave me.

However, we must have come in in the middle of the slow song that was playing, because it ended quickly and a song with a fast beat began blaring out of the DJ's speakers. I allowed my hand to slide down Naruto's chest as we broke apart from our close stance. He held it to his pectorals and began singing the song that vibrated the floor under us. I had never heard the song before, but he knew it by heart, and he serenaded me.

I didn't really know what to do. This kind of thing was completely foreign to me; I didn't know how to dance, I didn't know many songs, I had never been to a dance before. All I could do was follow the leads of the people around me.

Ino knew the song too, because she and Choji hurried over to us and started belting it out loud with Naruto. I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my throat, and then a flash blinded me. Quickly, I snapped my head to my left and saw Temari holding a camera.

"Smile, Hinata," she called out, and I followed her order. Naruto, Ino and Choji abandoned their singing to flash a picture-perfect grin at Temari's camera, which flashed in our eyes. I was blinded for a few moments and acted like a deer in headlights. The three people who had suffered the same as me went right back to their karaoke.

I moved towards my friend with the camera and thought that I would talk to her while Naruto was singing. She glanced at me once before wrapping a single arm around my shoulder and holding her camera up above our heads. I smiled, genuinely happy to be here with my friends, and Temari took a picture of the two of us. She glanced at it once before returning the camera to her side.

"You having fun?" she asked me, and I nodded, glancing back over at my date, who had started moving his body in some crazy robotic manner. His movements went along with how the music around us sounded. How did he move his body like that? "You two have any plans after the dance?"

My eyes flickered to her, and I started to wonder what it was that she and Shikamaru were going to do afterwards. Was I the only person thinking about...that?

"I don't know," I told her, because it was true. Naruto and I had never discussed what we were going to do after leaving prom. "What about you and Shikamaru?"

"We rented a nice hotel room, and we're going to spend the night there," she said, and I blushed, immediately allowing my mind to slip to the things that could happen in a hotel room. I cursed Sakura for this, because she had been the one always talking about sex, and now it was always on my mind. Temari could tell what I was thinking, and she laughed a bit. "I don't know if we're actually going to have sex tonight. We just want to be together."

"How long have you been with him?" I asked, curious.

Temari's eyes flickered to the right corner as she thought about the question and her answer. She bit the inside of her lip while she did so.

"Three years and two months."

Oh, wow. That was a long time to spend with someone, especially in high school. As I put it into perspective for myself, I realized that Sakura and Sasuke have been together longer. However, it was more impressive that Shikamaru and Temari have been together for so long without becoming physical. According to Sakura, that would be extremely difficult.

"You must really love each other," I commented. I mean, if she dealt with him for over three years, it had to be love, right? Temari put her hands on her hips and chuckled.

"I guess so," she said with a smile. "He's cute, I do have to admit that. Truth be told, nobody can make me madder than he can, and no other person can get me as flustered as he does. But at the same time, nobody makes my heart beat faster. Nobody can make me laugh harder than he does. I wouldn't want to be with anybody else."

I had never heard Temari sound so sensual before, and I was almost shocked to hear her express her love for Shikamaru to me. The two of them never seemed to be affectionate in front of anybody, and so I never really thought that they were tender towards one another. To be completely honest, I never really thought that they were warm to one another; I just couldn't seem to picture it for some reason or another.

It warmed my heart, though, to know that they were passionate about each other.

Shikamaru came up behind Temari, carrying a crystal glass filled with some sort of punch that the school provided for us. He handed it to her without a word, and she accepted it with a grin and a silent thank you.

"Dancing is a drag, but I hope you don't mind me stealing this pretty lady away from you," he said to me and grasped her hand, waiting for my reply.

"Go," I said, chuckling and waving them away. Shikamaru began leading Temari towards the dance floor, and she winked at me and waved goodbye. I exchanged the gesture, and then turned, unknowingly, into Kiba's shoulder. He wrapped an arm around my neck and accidently hit my jugular.

"Some date Naruto is!" He shouted in my ear, trying to hear himself over the music that blared in every crack and crevice of the room. "Leaving you standing around waiting to be caught by another guy."

Before I could get a word out of my mouth, I noticed out of my peripheral vision a dark mass come up to Kiba's side, gripping his shoulder. When he turned, I did too, and I saw that the thing was Naruto, who looked completely angry at Kiba for touching me. There was some sort of fiery passion that burned in his eyes, and I could see it. I could almost see flames of jealousy licking his flesh as he confronted Kiba.

"Get your hands off her," he demanded in a threatening tone, and Kiba released his hold on my body, never once breaking the connection between his stare and Naruto's glare. There was a short moment where I thought both boys were going to snap and punch each other in the face.

"Since when is Hinata your property?" he interrogated, clearly trying to start something and ignite the fire in Naruto. Naruto, on the other hand, took my hand in his and moved me closer to his side. He squeezed his fingers in between mine, signalling to me that he wouldn't be punching Kiba in the face tonight.

"Since she became my girlfriend," Naruto spit at him, and that may have been the first time he had given me that title. Other people had referred to me as 'Naruto's girlfriend,' but he had never said it with his own lips before. "Back off, Kiba."

Kiba threw his hands up and began turning around. "Whatever, man. I just hope you can satisfy her," he spoke obnoxiously loud. "The quietest girls are always the craziest in bed!"

That comment right there made my face turn immediately beet red, and I turned my eyes to the floor, not wanting to look at anybody. Naruto's grip tightened on my hand, and I constricted my other fingers around his forearm.

"Don't let him get to you," I told him, kissing his cheek, but I could tell that what Kiba had said really rubbed Naruto the wrong way. My eyebrows crinkled and I grasped his hand tightly in order for him to acknowledge me. When he turned his gaze down upon me, we were quiet for a moment, blocking out the sounds of the music and other people making memories.

This act of staring one another down must have been like tug-of-war, because the moment he let his gaze fall to our hands, I felt a release of tension. He rubbed my knuckles with his thumb and took a deep breath, cooling his head.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, and I wrapped myself around his torso, embracing him ever so tightly. The dress that I was wearing had my breasts popping out, and they squished against his pectorals almost awkwardly. But he didn't seem to notice, so I figured that I would pull the top up whenever I released my hold on him.

Suddenly, there was another blinding flash that came from behind me, and I whipped my head around to see the culprit of the deed; Ino held her own camera in her hand, pointing it as us and grinning. That seemed to be enough to lighten the mood for both Naruto and me, because we turned around and actually posed for a picture; I, of course, hiked up the top of my dress so that I didn't look like a stripper.

Naruto placed both of his hands on my hips as I turned my right hip to the camera, pressing my right hand to Naruto's chest affectionately. My left arm snaked behind his back and positioned itself at his far scapula. While I smiled shyly, Naruto let out a squinty-eyed, ear-to-ear grin. He wasn't afraid of the camera like I was, and his comfort around it definitely showed the world that much.

Ino blinded us with that flash of light, and she glanced at the image on her camera's screen.

"Cute!" She handed her device to Choji, who stood at her side, and she strutted over to me, almost shooing Naruto away. "Take one with me and Hinata," she said, and I thought I didn't hear her right. Ino and I had never really become friends, and I don't think we had even become acquaintances. However, I was not about to argue with the fact that she wanted to make as many memories as possible, and so I followed her lead and hugged her. My hands connected at her bony shoulder, my fingers entwining with one another. From what I could feel on my own shoulder, it felt as if Ino held me the exact same way.

We both flashed smiles, and without having to look, I could tell that hers was much more confident than mine. Despite the fact that I was impressed with how Sakura had me dolled up, I was still the same, reserved girl that I always had been. A part of me began to realize that that fact may never change. And, for once in my life, I was not torn between two conflicting sides within my psyche. I accepted the fact that I may never be as confident as Sakura or Ino or Temari. But that was okay.

Choji snapped the still-frame of Ino and me, and when the flash came and disappeared, we released our hold on one another. While I moved around, distorted from the swift burst of light, Ino paraded back to her date with her shoulders back and her chin held high. She was beautiful, and she knew it.

"Too cute, Hinata!" she squealed before taking her camera back from Choji, and she did the same thing that Temari had done to me; she held the camera up above her head, and she and her date grinned up at it. I wondered why people took pictures like that.

The four of us ended up migrating to one of the tables, sitting down and preparing ourselves for the dessert that was promised to us on the invitation. I was hungry, despite the fact that I had eaten before coming, and just thinking about what the dessert might be made my mouth salivate.

Shikamaru and Temari joined us soon after, taking a the last two seats of our round table. Flashes were flying back and forth as Temari and Ino began taking pictures of everything. They snapped shots of the table, the people sitting at the table, the table decorations, and they even took pictures of the other girl taking pictures. At one point in time, they timed it just right, and they took a picture of the other girl taking a picture of her. This kind of made me wish I had a camera.

"So," Ino started, placing her pink camera down on the lime green tablecloth, "what are you guys doing after prom?" The question wasn't to anybody in particular, simply to the table in general. Her turquoise eyes scanned the faces that sat at our round table, and Naruto and I glanced at one another. We really hadn't decided on what we were going to do after prom ended.

Luckily, Temari saved us by speaking up on the plans that she and Shikamaru had. "We've rented a hotel room for the night. My mother was kind enough and she showed her identification to the front desk, and so she's going to have a bottle of wine sent to the room a few minutes after we get there."

"Karura actually knows that you're staying overnight at a hotel with your boyfriend?!" Ino asked, obviously quite shocked. I couldn't say that I wasn't baffled too; if that were Naruto and me, Neji would throw a fit.

"I tell my mother everything." Temari brushed it off as if it were nothing. "She confessed that she would rather know what I was doing and with whom, rather than be kept in the dark."

There was definitely some truth to that.

"What'cha gonna do in the hotel room with a bottle of wine tonight?" Ino pried, trying to get as much juicy gossip out of Temari as possible, but Temari was a stone that wasn't about to be broken.

"We don't know yet." She shrugged. "Maybe sleep, maybe stay awake all night. Drink some wine. The whole point is for us to be together tonight." While their hands were under the table, I could tell that she and Shikamaru had locked fingers. Temari crossed her far right leg over her left knee and leaned in closer to her date. "We talked about it a lot beforehand, and we decided that it didn't really matter what we did, as long as we were together."

For the first time, I saw the true love between the blunt couple before me. Temari and Shikamaru leaned in towards each other, meeting halfway, and pecked one another on the lips quickly but passionately. I almost felt the need to look away.

Ino turned her eyes to Naruto and me, and we were caught like deer in headlights. Looking for help from one another, we exchanged a glance. I gazed deep into his eyes, searching for an answer, but I could find nothing. He was at as much of a loss as I was.

"Um..." he stuttered, his eyes never breaking the hold that was locked between us. "We haven't really talked about it." In the same instant, both of us returned our attention to the table to see Ino's baffled face.

"You guys don't know what you're doing?"

Naruto and I exchanged a second glance, only this one was extremely brief. "No," he answered for the both of us, and he squeezed my hand under the table. "Everything's been so busy, and since we don't get to spend as much time as we used to together - since she started living in Tenten's apartment - it just kind of slipped our minds."

"Oh yeah," Ino nodded and turned her attention to me, "I heard that you were living with Tenten. How is that going?" It both looked and sounded as though she was genuinely curious to see how my sudden change in lifestyle was going.

"It's fine," I said. "Tenten is really nice, and I'm grateful that she offered me the other room in her apartment. I'm really happy that Neji is out of the hospital and living with us, too."

"Oh yeah, how's he doing?" Choji spoke up, and both he and Shikamaru turned their attention towards me. They had known Neji, because he was only in the great ahead of us. They probably had a few classes together, and perhaps shared a physical education class.

"Neji is doing good. All of the casts are off, and he can move around fine," I said, nodding, and I couldn't help but to remember that very first time I had seen him after he had been in the accident. All those cords and wires sticking out of his body. Those metal pipes that jutted out of various parts of his flesh. How the top of his skin was so beaten, battered and bruised. How his face was swollen and discolored. Those tubes that they had shoved down his throat.

The recollections were so vivid, I had to squeeze my eyes shut for a moment to clear my thoughts, and to push away the terrible things that I had seen.

"The doctors say he should refrain from running and strenuous exercise until he's cleared from his physical therapy."

"That's good." Choji nodded. "I'm glad he's okay."

"Me too," I said softly, looking down at the tablecloth. Naruto squeezed my hand tightly, and I turned my eyes to him. He gave me a warm, comforting grin.

An army of Konoha High juniors came out of the kitchen, carrying trays of chocolate lava cake. Immediately, the sweet smell trickled in through my nostrils, and I couldn't wait until it was placed in front of me. I hadn't had anything of the sort in so long; such fancy desserts had been uncommon in my home after my father had lost his job and we lost all of our money.

OoO

When prom ended, Naruto and I stepped out into the moonlight, hand-in-hand. We still had no idea where to go for the night. I knew that I definitely wanted to spend the entire night with him, just to be with him, as Temari had said. We couldn't go back to Tenten's apartment, because both she and Neji would be there, and Neji would be watching us like a hawk. We couldn't go to Naruto's apartment, because Kushina didn't entirely approve of us sharing a bed and being intimate.

We stood together under the stars, staring into one another's eyes. I drowned in his ocean eyes and quite frankly, I didn't care to be rescued.

"What do you want to do?" I asked him, and he shrugged, holding my hands tenderly. He moved them upwards, holding them against his heart, and he smiled at me with so much genuine love that I could have swooned.

"As long as I'm with you," he said, and I could feel his tender heart beat under the flesh of his chest; the rhythm of life thumped inside of him, and mine matched his tempo, "nothing else matters."

And, with those few, touching words, Naruto leaned forward and made a passionate connection of his lips to mine.


	29. Chapter 29

_Chapter Twenty-Nine_

Naruto led me by my hand along the grassy shore by the lake, the moonlight glistening down upon us with such affection. In my right hand, I clutched my Mary Janes so that we could run along without a care in the world. A part of me knew that I should be concerned about tripping and ripping the dress that Tenten's friend had so generously loaned me. However, I wasn't afraid of that. I wasn't afraid of anything, and I couldn't explain why. Something about being here with Naruto, alone, made me fearless.

We frollicked together, our feet pounding against the ground so softly. The grass was luscious under my bare soles, and I couldn't believe how it felt under my bare flesh. The late spring breeze breathed on my face gingerly, filling me with complete life. I had never realized how wonderful life could be. With Naruto, being out here was heaven, and I never wanted this night to end. I would be completely content. If I were to die right here, I would die the happiest girl in the world.

The swishing tide rippled and splashed along the shore, creating a slight spray of water that would coat my ankles if I came any closer.

I yanked up the bottom of the dress that restrained my legs' movements, holding it in the single hand that was already caressing my heels. I held it high enough to the point that my knees were exposed, and I now had free movement of my legs. The breeze that trickled along my flesh caused tiny little goosebumps to form, but I didn't stop. I never quit running freely along the dark and open shore, never let Naruto stop escorting me to anywhere.

The moon smiled down on us, watching our every move, hearing our childlike laughter. Clearly, it could see the bliss that I experienced while under the accompanying grasp of my dear love. I surely hoped that any onlookers could see how jovial I was to be with him, because I had never been so happy in my life.

It was strange; I felt as though I had never really known what happiness was before this moment happening before me right now. There had never been a time that I had felt so...content. There were no fears shrouding my mind. There was no sadness that peaked through my positive emotions. I was strong, for once in my life. I felt as though I could take on the entire world, so long as Naruto was at my side. I was capable of so many things that I was not able to fathom before, because Naruto was here. I could do anything.

I would never let go of him.

Naruto turned around and made his feet stop forcefully, causing me to crash into him. I had no time to even think about stopping, and so we collided. But he had braced himself, and he constricted both of his arms around my shoulders, catching me tenderly. I let the shoes and the skirt of my dress fall to the grass at my feet so that I could embrace him so tightly. I didn't ever want to let go of him.

Naruto ran his fingers through the hair at my scalp. I knew that the massive amount of hairspray that Sakura had applied to my locks was a deterrent, and he would not be able to move his fingers freely through the length of my hair. Unless, of course, he wanted to rip it out of my scalp.

He pressed his forehead to mine, and we breathed together, gasping for the air that our lungs lacked. However, the only thing that entered our senses was one another. I breathed in Naruto, craving him. I wanted him to be with me for such a long time; while it wouldn't even begin to be long enough, forever would have to suffice.

Naruto planted his lips upon mine, caressing mine in between his. From the forcefulness of the kiss, I expected it to go on longer than a few seconds, but I had been mistaken. He retreated just far enough to see my eyes flutter open. I took in the sight of his sapphire eyes, glistening at the moon's reflection. He was so beautiful, I could have lost my breath. My hands moved, one regripping the hold I had on his tuxedo jacket, the other moving to graze his jaw. His skin was so soft under my fingertips.

In this moment, this split moment, I felt at though I fell in love with Naruto Uzumaki all over again.

"Hinata," he murmured so softly, I almost didn't hear him. My eyes scanned his face, searching for the rest of his sentence, but I couldn't find anything, nor did he continue speaking. Rather, we stood there for what seemed like hours, just gazing into one another's soul. I could see all of the good in him, and my heart beat for only him. I couldn't help but wonder what he saw by sinking into the depths of my eyes. What did he find deep inside me? Could he see how much I loved him? Did the knowledge of my loyalty to him come crashing into his mind?

I felt as though I couldn't live without him now. I had this undying desire to stay with him for as long as my heart continued to beat. Even after that; if tragedy became of me, and if I were to depart from this life before Naruto, I would always protect him. I would always love him. Even in death.

"I know I tell you this so much," he began, whispering so tenderly to me that my heart could have melted, "but Hinata, you are so beautiful. I'm so happy that you're in my life."

"Naruto..." I purred, my voice trembling as I fought back the tears of joy. I didn't want to cry. I didn't want to be weak.

"If somebody would have come up to me two years ago and told me that I was going to end up falling in love with Hinata Hyuga, I would have laughed at them and told them that they're crazy. I knew who you were, but I didn't _know _you. I never thought that a girl who I had gone to school with since elementary school would change my life the way you have," he confessed, and my knees quivered under my weight.

Naruto held my weight, but then began lowering both himself and me down to sit on the velvety grass. He crossed his legs around my body, holding me loosely to him, but the intention was to keep me still so that I would listen to what he had to say. He wouldn't have had to tell me twice.

"Before I met you - like, personally met you - I didn't really care what happened with women. I had liked Sakura for a really long time, but she always shot me down, no matter what my attempts were. When she started dating my best friend, I was hurt. Of course, I never let it show, because I didn't want her to be concerned about me. After they became a thing, I stopped seeing girls as girls, and I just saw them as another person. I didn't care what gender the people around me were, which led to my lacking of interest in finding a nice girlfriend.

"When you first came into the lives of the basketball team, I never thought that any of this would happen. I saw you as a person, and I had noticed that you watched Sasuke a lot, so I figured you were another Sasuke Uchiha fangirl. I noticed that you and him often exchanged glances and have private conversations.

"Then that weird thing happened, where we got locked into the closet together. That was the first time I ever talked to you, and I could see how shy you were." Naruto blushed as he laughed and turned his eyes down to our hands. "To be honest, I found it really cute, and suddenly, gender mattered. You were a girl, and I was so thankful for that. I don't know how you did it, but you got me interested in no time at all. I wanted to be around you, and I couldn't figure out why.

"For the first time, I was excited to be around a girl that wasn't Sakura. I was seeing someone else, and I was surprised at how easy it was to forget her after you came into my life. I mean, every last thought of Sakura left my mind, and I found myself falling harder for you with every day.

"I could have hit myself that day that I made you cry, and from then, I knew that I wouldn't ever do that again. I never wanted to make you cry."

It was too late, though. I was crying now, right in front of him. But I wasn't sad. I was so happy, and I couldn't contain all of the emotions that were welling up inside of me. I tightened my grip on Naruto's hands and I squeezed my eyes shut, trying so hard to stop the tears.

"Hinata?" Naruto leaned forward, pressing our conjoined hands to his chest. "What did I do?" I could hear the pain in his voice, and I forced myself to let my eyelids slide up, exposing my watery irises to him. I let the overwhelming joy sparkle in the smile that curled up my lips.

"I'm not sad, Naruto," I told him, bringing our hands closer to me so that I could kiss the tops of his hands. I could tell that he was confused, but he didn't tear his hands away from me. "You've made me so happy."

"_You are the greatest thing that ever happened to me..."_ the words that he had murmured to me on Christmas Eve rang in my brain. I had never forgotten those words, and I never will. They made me believe that we were going to be together forever. Those were the words that kept me going even when I didn't want to get out of bed in the morning. Those were the words that I fell asleep thinking about night after night. Those words echoed throughout my mind time and time again, and they always gave me the strength to do anything, or to face anything. Those words were the one thing keeping me from being sad that I couldn't go to college. Reason being: I would get to stay here with Naruto.

"Naruto," I murmured, taking his face into my hands and pressing my lips to his once, and for only a moment before retreating. "You are the greatest thing that ever happened to me."

Naruto blinked three times, pulling away from me so that he could see my face in its entirety. I probably looked like a wreck. My crying probably caused my makeup to run and smeer. I didn't know what kind of makeup Sakura put on me, so I wasn't sure.

"Hinata..." he murmured before shaking his head and pulling me into a passionate kiss. My mouth moved over his, our bodies growing closer and closer to one another until we were crushed to each other, itching for one another. The way our bodies fit together so puzzle-perfectly, it was as if we were born to love each other. I was definitely okay with that.

I could feel his fingers touch my back through the corset that laced up. They were so warm to the touch, yet they caused shivers to travel up and down my spine. Tiny little goosebumps formed under his fingertips and they grew in concentration, almost completely covering my back. His hands touched different points of my back, weaving in and out through the strings that laced the dress to my back.

His every touch was tender and gentle on me, as if he was so careful as to not break me. I was fragile, and he knew so. He ran the tips of his fingers down my arms and back up, stroking the skin that tingled under every touch.

My hands caressed the back of his neck, and my fingers tangled in his feathery, blonde hair. They curled around in the lush yellow mess, clearly in bliss.

Every time our lips touched, a spark came between us, and I could feel my heart pounding, yearning for more; yearning for Naruto. Our tongues danced together fervently in our shared mouth. We were no longer two beings yearning for one another. Rather, we were one and in unison.

I believe that together, nothing could ever stop us. We were young and we were very much in love, and nobody could ever tear us apart. So not as long as we cared for each other as deeply as we do in this very instant. I would never allow anything to sever the bond that I shared with Naruto, and I could only trust that he would protect that same bond with everything he had.

"I love you," I called out to him in only a whisper, and I could feel him moving his attention to my throat, where he suckled the side of my neck arduously. His breath was warm on the flesh of my throat, and every nibble caused me to suck in a breath. The muscles in my stomach twitched as I grew excited and fell deep into the moment of Naruto showering me with love.

My hands clenched around his biceps as I came into the realization of what we were in the process of doing. I know I had decided that I wouldn't stop us if we started, but now that it was actually here and happening, I was afraid. I was so full of uncertainty, and I feared the unknown. As a result of my fear, my muscles clenched tightly.

Naruto felt it, I knew, because he removed his lips from my neck and turned his eyes to mine. Without saying a single word at first, he grasped my hand and squeezed it tightly.

"Let's not do this," he said, and I think my face may have grimaced in a retort. "You're scared, I'm scared." He moved his lips to mine again and kissed me slowly and lovingly. He was scared? What was he scared of? "Hinata, I love you, so much. I would rather wait until we're both completely positive that we're ready, than go through with it now and regret it later."

My eyes stared deep into his, my eyebrows contracting. "Would you regret it?" I asked softly, wondering if he really would have second thoughts about our love.

"I'd regret it if you ended up regretting it." He told me, pressing a single hand to my cheek. "Like Temari said: it doesn't matter what we do, as long as we're together. I just want to be with you, Hinata, and I wouldn't risk doing anything that would tear us apart."

I closed my eyes and breathed heavily through my nostrils, nodding at the words that he spoke so gently to me. It was the same for me: I just wanted to be with him. I had drowned my mind in the idea of sex and had gotten carried away. In reality, I really didn't care if we did do it or if we didn't. I just wanted to be with Naruto. I wanted to talk to him, laugh with him. I wanted to lay in his arms and fall asleep wrapped in his embrace. Those were the moments that I cherished the most, and I would never want them to slip through my fingers. I would fight for those moments, and I would never let them go. They were a part of me now.

"Naruto, I love you so much," I said and kissed his jaw before allowing myself to fall down into the grass completely. The sides of my face were tickled by the thick tufts that surrounded me. Naruto rested his head on the ground next to mine, and he constricted his arms around my body. We interlocked fingers that rested on my stomach. I moved my body closer to his, nestling my head under his chin. "Don't let me go, Naruto."

"Never." He clenched my hands in his, proving his point.

That night, Naruto and I ended up deciding against having sex, which may have been for the better. It definitely couldn't have been for the worse, because, as he promised, he never let go of me. That entire night, we slept out in the open, in the grass along the shore of the lake. The stars and the moon were the only things watching us as we fell in love over and over again with one another. My body never grew cold, because I was wrapped in his embrace.

I didn't remember falling asleep. The only thing I remember was the invigoration of my five senses. Naruto made each and every human sense tingle. I only remember drowning in those senses, being filled by Naruto.

However, before I knew it, the sun was glistening down upon our bodies, warming the flesh that was exposed to its rays. It broke through my eyelids, tearing thethem open and exposing them to the newly lit morning. The light was too bright for my awakening eyes, and so I squeezed them shut defensively and buried my face in Naruto's chest. A little groan emerged from my throat as I refused the morning. I wanted to sleep, still.

Naruto, on the other hand, was still completely sound asleep. Tiny snores came from his nostrils as he slept, and I couldn't help but to smile. My hands clenched the jacket that was still covering his arms and I allowed myself to fall into a light state of sleep. While I rested, I could still hear the sounds happening around me.

I could hear geese crying out to one another farther out on the lake, and a bit of splashing on the surface of the water. The shore was calm, but it continued to swish against the bank. The grass rustled around our bodies, tickling my exposed skin.

The warmth of Naruto's body radiated into mine, the heat circulating throughout my veins. My body was content; I never wanted to remove myself from this moment. I could stay here forever, and I would never be restless.

However, while I was perfectly okay with never leaving this moment, I'm sure that others would not enjoy staying stuck in time. I'm positive that Sakura would become antsy, and she would probably ache from the baby. I wouldn't stop time, even if I could, specifically because of her situation. Even if it wasn't stopping time, even if it was merely staying here for the rest of forever, I'm sure Neji would be concerned.

Oh yeah... Neji was probably freaking out. I never told him that there was a possibility that I was going to be out all night. I don't think I mentioned it to Tenten, either, and I wasn't sure if Naruto let his parents know. We were both eighteen, so legally there were no implications. However, the people that care about us would surely be concerned.

_I'm sorry, Neji_. I apologized silently to my cousin as I snuggled in closer to Naruto's warmth. I felt a little guilty for putting Neji through such a hassle, but he was a saint for dealing with everything. I could never thank him enough for staying - both staying alive, and staying with me. The fact that he had clung to this life meant the world to me, and I would never jeopardize him. I never wanted to make him worry, but it seems as though I had failed that desire already.

"Are you worried?" Naruto murmured, and my grip on his jacket tightened. He repositioned his arms around my figure, holding me so close. His body felt so good against mine, but I knew that we would probably be getting up soon. "He loves you. He can't stay mad for too long."

"But he can hit you in the face again," I said, my voice so quiet. The mental image of the recollection caused my body to tremble. Neji could hit hard, despite the fact that his good arm had been crushed, and he still had bandages wrapping his entire limb. All I could see was Naruto being struck by my cousin's fist, and I watched as he fell to the ground. Never once did Naruto lose his cool and hit Neji back. He continued to get back up and he stayed calm. In complete honesty, I don't know how he did it. I was sure that he was going to snap. Even so, I was so glad that he didn't.

Naruto snickered. "I can take it."

I pushed myself up onto my elbows so that I could look him in the face. My hair began falling down, and strands of my bangs hung in my face. Naruto brushed the long locks away from my cheeks, tucking them behind my ear.

"I don't want to see you get hit." I shook my head. "I won't hesitate to step in between you two again."

"Please don't," he said instantly, his face twisting in a painful grimace. "I don't think I'd be able to take it, if you intervened again and got hurt." He leaned forward and kissed the cheek that had been smothered in cover up to hide the healing bruise. "It hurt too much the first time to see you take a punch for me."

"But I couldn't stand seeing you get beat up by Neji," I said a little loudly - well, loud for my voice. "You weren't going to do anything, and he was just going to keep hitting you. I had to." I pressed my lips to his for only a single heavenly moment. "And for you, I would do it again, a thousand times over."


	30. Chapter 30

_Chapter Thirty_

I stood outside of Tenten's apartment, breathing deeply to calm myself before walking in. Naruto had just kissed me goodbye, and was walking back down the stairs, leaving me alone. I watched as he trotted down the flight of stairs and turned the corner, disappearing from my vision. When he was gone, I returned my gaze to the door in front of me, staring at the number plastered to the wood.

I wondered what was going on inside; was Neji panicking? Was he going to be angry with me for staying out all night? Would he accuse me of having a sexual relation with Naruto? I was almost afraid to open the door, but I didn't really have anywhere else to go but here.

Another deep breath coursed in and out through my trachea, and my trembling hand reached out towards the door knob. My fingers wrapped around the knob tightly, the muscles of my fragile hand quivering. There was no running away now.

Simultaneously, I twisted the knob and thrust the door open, slowly peeking in at first. I couldn't see anybody, and so I continued in. I could hear the shower running in the bathroom, and I assumed that it was Neji. He was never one to sleep late, and I don't think he ever slept past eight o'clock on any occasion. It was about ten now, so it was quite possible that Tenten was still curled up and asleep in the bed that she and Neji shared.

I stepped into the loft silently, my bare feet barely making a noise on the hardwood floor. I held my shoes in one hand, the bottom of my dress in the other. I didn't know if I would be get out of the beautiful purple mass by myself, but I would surely attempt it. I made a B-line down the hall, passing the bathroom door and moving by Neji and Tenten's bedroom. I glanced in, and it was dark. Even still, I couldn't see anybody in the bed. Maybe Tenten had to work today.

Not concerning too much over it, I proceeded to my room, not bothering with closing the door behind me. I dropped my heels at the foot of my bed and reached behind my back, fingering the lace that constricted the dress to my body. Turning my eyes to the ceiling, I began working with it blindly, concentrating solely on the sense of touch in my fingertips. If I could untie the material that bandaged up my back, then I could loosen the dress and slip it off, no problem.

I couldn't seem to directly untie the knot, so I bit my bottom lip and began working at the tie diligently. My fingers strained as they reached for the knot at my back. My arms began to tremble as the muscles under my skin were being stretched to their limit. Despite the fact that I was rather flexible, this tedious task proved difficult.

Whenever I could feel the material becoming looser, I let out a breath, but continued to work with the binding lace. I didn't notice how hard I had been biting my lip until I tasted the metallic dripping of blood on my tongue. Quickly, I licked the wound and continued to work at the knot that Sakura tied extremely well.

Once I had a good hold on one of the laces, I tore it outward, the structure of the knot falling apart. I was able, then, to rip the fabric rope out of the eyelets on the back of the dress. I didn't tear it completely out; just enough to where I could squeeze my figure out of it without tearing the dress itself. I pressed the fabric, sliding it down the curves of my torso and my hips, and when I had gotten it far enough down, I stepped out of the dress, abandoning it on the floor.

I stood there in the silence of my room, wearing nothing but a pair of black cotton bikini underwear. On my way to my closet, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, and happened to notice a large discoloration on the side of my neck. Blinking once, I flipped my hair over to the side so that I could get a better look at it. The bruise that coated the side of my throat was blotchy, and an ugly magenta color.

Turning my eyes to the walls, I began to go through the events of last night, wondering exactly what it was that had caused this bruise. I didn't remember hitting anything - or getting hit for that matter. I didn't fall against anything. I couldn't remember anything that would have caused a blemish of such magnitude. Unless it happened whenever Ino and Temari wrapped their arms around my neck in order to take a picture. But that wouldn't bruise, would it?

My mind's attention flickered to the scene of Naruto and I frollicking around the lake together. I thought about how his kisses moved towards my throat, and how he had been nibbling at the side of my neck. My body tingled at the memory, and the sensation radiated throughout my nerves. I closed my eyes and held my hand across the bruise, remembering how every touch, how every kiss felt against my flesh. Goosebumps formed on the surface of my skin, and the hairs that ran across my body stuck up.

I didn't know that something that felt so good would leave such a mark. If Neji saw this, he would probably freak out.

Turning my eyes back to the mirror, I let my hair fall back down over my neck, concealing Naruto's mark. I could never let Neji see it.

After I matted it down, I finished the distance to my closet and opened it, looking inside. I didn't really feel like wearing nice clothes today. I was tired, and I doubt that I was going anywhere today. When I decided on the occasion, I yanked out a pair of dark blue soft shorts and replaced them with my underwear, throwing the undergarment into a basket half-full of dirty laundry. Over my bare chest, I threw on a Konoha High basketball team T-shirt that Coach Tsunade had given me.

Any time the guys got a new shirt or anything, Coach would always give me one too. I never asked why, but she always told me a reason anyway: I was just as much part of the team as the guys were.

I hugged myself, thinking about the memories that I kept in my mind of the basketball team. They were good times, and I wished that I had joined the team as their manager earlier than I did. I would have loved to been there with them all through high school, rather than just in our junior and senior year. Even so, I was happy that I spent my time with them. I had made so many great memories with them, and I would cherish them forever.

I took a deep breath before making my way back out the door of my room, and retracing my steps down the hall. The shower was still running, and I still wasn't sure if it was Neji or Tenten in there. I moved into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, glancing around at the food that Tenten had stocked earlier in the week.

I was so thankful for her; she took me out of my electricity-lacking, food barren house and placed me into her own apartment, where I had everything I needed for survival. She was a saint in my life, and I was so glad that she had been the solution to my issue.

I reached into the refrigerator and grabbed the container of apple juice, tearing it off of the shelf and rotating around to the cupboard, where I retrieved a large glass. As I poured my juice gently into the cup, I listened to the sound of the shower faucet squeak and the water refrain from pattering on the floor. I was still assuming that it was Neji in the shower, just because he typically didn't work on Saturdays.

As I began dragging my feet in the direction of the single reclining chair, I heard the doorknob on the bathroom door twist. Naturally, my eyes flickered over to the sound, and the door opened almost quickly. When I saw who came out of the bathroom, I was so surprised, and I had accidently done a spit-take with my juice.

Both Neji and Tenten stepped out of the steamy bathroom, nothing but towels covering their naked bodies. For a moment, they didn't see me, but the moment I unintentionally spewed the apple juice out of my mouth, they gasped, clearly not knowing that I was home.

I could feel my face growing red as the three of us stood there in shock. Neji's cheeks turned a bright red as he tried to think of something to tell me. However, it didn't matter what excuse he had the nerve to tell me, because I had slept over at Sakura's house before with Sasuke. I knew what tended to happen when two people took a shower together.

"Hinata," Neji stuttered, clearly nervous of the situation. "I thought you were sleeping over at Sakura's."

That must have been what Sakura told Neji, in order to keep him calm if I didn't come home last night. I thanked her silently for that, because she got me out of so much trouble.

"Um, yeah..." I murmured and nonchalantly matted my hair down on the side of my neck. "What's happening here?"

"I slipped in the shower!" Neji shouted out quickly, clearly sticking with the first lie that he could think of. "Tenten was helping me."

"By being naked?" I asked him, sort of angered that he was not telling me the truth. However, I couldn't entirely argue with that, because I wasn't being entirely truthful with him, either. I watched as Tenten smacked Neji's left shoulder.

"Don't lie to her, Neji," she scolded him, and he turned his attention to the girl he had just shared a shower with.

"What the hell am I supposed to tell her?" Neji asked, and in a hushed tone, he hissed, "that we were having _sex_?"

_I knew it._

"She's eighteen, Neji. I'm pretty sure she can put two and two together," Tenten spoke before whipping around and marching for the room that she shared with Neji. When she was gone, I turned my eyes to the ground, gazing down at the droplets of juice that I had spit onto the floor. I figured that I should probably clean that up, so I set my glass down on the coffee table and returned to the kitchen, retrieving a paper towel. I ran it under the faucet, allowing the water to pour onto my hands too, hydrating my skin.

When I returned to my mess, Neji was still standing there with a towel wrapped around his hips. His long brunette hair hung down the length of his back, soaking his flesh and dripping water onto the floor. I knew just how awkward he felt, because I had felt the exact same way whenever he had found that condom and accused Naruto and me of proceeding into a sexual relationship.

I wasn't mad that Neji and Tenten had progressed in their relationship so quickly. Actually, I was glad that she was able to make Neji love somebody, because he needed to express his affection. I believe that Neji had a lot of love in him, but he was too afraid to give it to anybody, for fear of that person being taken away from him, like his parents had been. What he needed was a lady who didn't enjoy being bossed around, and could take the reins when she deemed it necessary. He needed someone who could dominate him at times, and someone who could put him in his place when he was out of line.

Tenten was that lady, and I thanked her endlessly for being the person that she is. She was a blessing in both my life and in Neji's, and I hoped that they stayed together for a long time. I believe that she is a good thing for my lonely cousin, and that she will be able to get him to open up, if only to her.

I smiled a tiny grin as I polished the floorboards with the wet paper towel, removing any of the juice that I had spit everywhere.

"Hinata, are you mad?" he asked me in a low voice, and I sat up straight, sitting on my knees with my hands resting on my thighs. I wasn't entirely sure what kind of look I was giving him, but through my eyes, I saw him cower a bit.

"Why would I be mad?" I shrugged, and I gave him a soft gaze. "I think that Tenten is good for you. I don't think you should let her go; you need her." When Neji didn't say anything to my comment, I felt the need to continue so that there were no awkward silences. "Why should it matter how _I_ feel about it? Does she make you happy?"

Neji's eyes flickered to the ground for only a moment before he returned his gaze to me quickly. "Yes," he admitted, as if it were the most difficult thing in the world to say.

"Then it shouldn't matter what I think. If you really love that person, why should it matter what anybody else thinks?"

"I just thought it might be weird for you," he said, and I placed my hand on the paper towel, grabbing it in a single hand and standing up, returning to my full five-foot-two height. For once, I felt strong without Naruto here at my side. Rather, he was here in spirit, holding me high as I gave my cousin my honest opinion on the matter.

"It can't possibly be weirder than you punching my boyfriend-" that word! "-and accusing us of having sex when we really didn't."

"Sorry..." Neji forced his gaze away from mine, and when the connection between our eyes was broken, I turned back in the direction of the kitchen and threw the saturated paper towel into the wastebasket. "I just don't want anybody taking advantage of you."

I couldn't think of a reply, so I stayed quiet in the kitchen, running my hands under hot water for no reason. Neji had been trying to protect me, but what he didn't understand is that I didn't need protecting; not from Naruto. With Naruto, I was as safe as I would ever be. He would protect me - not that I wanted to be the damsel in distress.

With a failed attempt to run my fingers through my hair, I realized that it would probably be best if I took a shower to get all of the hair products out and the makeup off. I haven't looked in a mirror since Sakura had finished dolling me up, so I wasn't entirely sure how I looked.

Before I turned out of the kitchen, I condensed the hair on my neck to cover the blemish that Naruto had left me with. Taking a deep breath, I made my way towards the bathroom, and saw that Neji was still standing there. He watched me with a cautious eye, and I didn't entirely know why.

"I'm going to take a shower," I told him as I pushed past him gingerly. Giving him no time to say another word to me, I pressed the door shut and leaned against it, taking in the entire situation. While I was happy that Tenten finally got Neji to open up to her, I sort of felt as though he was being hypocritical. In his mind, he could do whatever he wanted with Tenten, but if anything happened between Naruto and me, Neji would kill him. To me, that wasn't right. But hopefully my words struck him, and he would realize that I didn't really care about how he or anybody else felt about my relationship with Naruto. I love him and he loves me, and that's all that matters.

With a sigh, I turned around and faced the shower, tearing off the clothes I had just slipped on only moments ago. Standing in front of the shower, I grasped my hair with both hands, playing with it in attempt to loosen the strands from the menacing hold of the hairspray. It tried so hard to stay together, but my fingers wove through my locks, separating the sticky strands.

When I moved to the top of my head, I found that it was completely knotted, and I raised my eyebrows and glanced in the mirror. It was still big and poofy and perfect as it had been yesterday evening, but I didn't entirely understand why it felt so knotty.

Shrugging, I returned my trajectory to the shower, where I stepped in and yanked the curtain shut. Beads of water still lay on the floor and had condensed onto the wall to my left. I shoved the knob of the faucet up and cranked it all the way to the left, wanting a hot, steamy shower. The water poured down over my naked figure, dolefully washing away the events of last night.

I wished that I could return to the night before, with Naruto at the lake. I had never felt so calm and content in my entire life, and ultimately, I had never felt so alive.

Naruto...I loved him so much, and there was nothing that would ever tear me away from him. Not now, not ever.

I needed that shower, and I felt so clean afterwards. My skin was no longer congested with particles of makeup, and my hair wasn't sticking to itself any longer. Every residue of the events of last night had been washed down the drain, except the dark magenta mark that Naruto had made by nibbling on my throat.

When I stepped out of the shower in nothing but a skimpy towel, I wiped off the glass of the mirror so that I could examine the bruise. It was dark and blotchy, and I didn't know if I was going to be able to hide it forever. I couldn't put my hair up at all, especially not around Neji. While I didn't care about what he thought of Naruto and me, I still didn't want him seeing this mark and getting all fired up. Certainly, I didn't want Naruto to get punched in the face again, and I definitely didn't want to get hit in the cheek a second time.

I heard voices outside of the bathroom door, and it sounded as though they were coming from where the couch was. I listened closely, because it didn't sound like Neji or Tenten. However, I couldn't quite make out the sound of the voice or the words that were being said.

With curiosity killing me like a cat, I quickly ran the towel over my body, sopping up the drops of water that clung to my skin. I squeezed my long, dripping hair with a second towel before throwing my clothes back on my damp body. I whipped my hair around to the left side of my neck to cover the bruise, and I practically ran out the bathroom door.

I instantaneously recognized the raven black hair of the person who sat on my couch, and when he heard me step out of the bathroom, he turned around to meet my gaze. My eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

"Sasuke?" I asked him, taking a good look at his face, which twisted in excruciating pain. I didn't know why he was here, and why he looked like he got a dagger through his chest. Typically, whenever Sasuke came to Tenten's apartment to visit me, Sakura was with him. But she wasn't here.

My eyes widened as I came to the realization of what was happening. Sakura wasn't here, and Sasuke was grimacing and gasping, grasping the shirt covering his chest. I could feel my heart legitimately halt in its tracks within my chest. My skin began tingling as I thought about Sakura and Senri, and I instantly became nervous.

I wanted him to tell me that my thoughts were false. I didn't know how I would be able to console either of them.

Without my knowledge, my feet began pacing quickly towards my friend, who was hesitantly standing up onto shaking legs. I could feel every muscle in my face clench in fear.

"Sasuke?" My voice trembled and I could feel the warm tears welling up behind my eyes. "Everything is okay right? With Sakura and Senri?"

A harsh gasp came out of Sasuke's throat as he bent forward, resting a single hand on his knee. For a moment, I thought he was going to vomit, but he didn't heave a single time. Rather, I watched as he hysterically fought to keep any tears hidden behind his mask.

I could hear the footsteps of Neji and Tenten come through the hall, and they stopped when they saw what was happening. I didn't have to turn around and see their faces to know that they wore the same countenance as me.

"Hinata," Sasuke choked out, forcing himself to stand up straight, and I could tell that he tried so hard to look me in the eye. However, he was completely distraught, and couldn't help but to squeeze his eyelids shut. Despite the amount of pressure that he clearly exerted on his eyelids, transparent moisture broke the dam and raced down his cheeks in streams. "Sakura's having complications..."


	31. Chapter 31

_Chapter Thirty-One_

"Sakura's having complications," he sobbed, falling into shards of the strong man that he was. I couldn't begin to imagine the pain that he experienced at this very moment; I would never want to lose my child. However, that didn't mean that I wasn't hurting along with my friend, because the pain in my heart was excruciating. I didn't know what to do, and I couldn't even begin to figure out what to say. Everything was okay yesterday. How could something bad happen so quickly? Senri, he was kicking around inside of Sakura, beginning his boxing training early, as his mother had told me. But Senri was okay.

How could something that was perfectly fine yesterday be in such a bad shape today? Things had really taken a turn for the unexpected worse, and I didn't like it. She was so close; Sakura was so close to having this baby. Was all the stress and work for nothing? Had Sakura failed her unborn son?

No... I clenched my hands into fists and rushed to Sasuke, clenching him in my arms. I didn't know what else to do. I was well aware that Sasuke had to be hurting so deeply inside. His son's life was in danger, and he hadn't even gotten the chance to meet him.

Sasuke's hands clung to the arch of my back, his fingers constricting so tightly around my T-shirt. I watched as Sasuke fell completely apart in my arms, and I grew afraid. I didn't know how to put him back together, and so I was left with only the parts of him in my grasp. He trembled as I held him so tightly, and by the sounds of his hesitated sobs, I could tell that he was attempting in a desperate struggle to keep from crying. His efforts proved futile, and his exhales were rough, shaking with the terror of what was happening to his son.

A growl came from his throat as he continued trying to keep it all welled up inside of him. Those minute little gnarls escalated into groans, which quickly grew into throaty screams. His deep yells were quivering with the rest of his body. His muscles tightened, and I could feel his hold on my shirt tighten. I could swear that he held the material tight enough to tear it.

But that didn't matter. He could tear my shirt, and I wouldn't ever loosen my grip around his body. I had to hold him together while he shattered into little tiny shards.

His cries sent swords ripping through the flesh of my chest, and they pierced my heart viciously, tearing through everything in their paths. I gasped, and unlike Sasuke, I gave up trying to be strong and hold the agony back. Rather, I allowed the tears to flood down my cheeks like Niagra Falls. I loosened the grip my right hand had on Sasuke's shirt, only y to constrict my arm tighter around his hard figure.

I could still feel Neji and Tenten's presence at the start of the hallway, and their eyes burned on my back. I could feel it. I didn't care. The most important thing to me right at this very moment was Sasuke, and being with Sasuke in his time of need. He was here for me whenever I lost my parents, and I would be there for him, whether or not he lost Senri. I would never abandon him.

The air in the room around us was rapidly growing heavier and heavier, and the weight began pressing down on my shoulders. I bore the weight, and I held it for both myself and for Sasuke. I wouldn't let him do this on his own. I was here for him.

"Let it out," I cried, sucking in a breath through my now-congested nostrils. The exhale was harsh, and a tiny noise came out with it as I pressed myself closer to him. "You're not alone. It's okay to let all of your sadness pour out." I told him, trying so hard to be strong for him, but feeling weak due to my lack of a fight and easy succumb to my own sorrow. "I won't leave you."

I don't know how long the two of us stood there, strangled in one another's arms, and I also didn't know how many tears we both had cried; it had to be enough to fill an ocean by now. But it didn't matter to me. I didn't care how long Sasuke needed a shoulder to cry on, and I would have stayed there all day if he needed me.

However, the time had slowly dragged to the end of our tears, whether it was because we were cried out and dehydrated, or if it was by the power of our own will.

Neji had made herbal tea for Sasuke while he was pouring out his despair on my shoulder, and set a mug in front of Sasuke, who now sat at the island in the kitchen. His eyes were puffy and burning red, and I didn't doubt that mine were too. They were flaming, that's for sure.

After taking a sip of the scorching beverage, Sasuke was able to tell me what was happening with Sakura and Senri. I listened to him attentively.

"She woke up in the middle of the night last night," he began, hiccuping at first, "just to go to the bathroom. But, she came back to me, panicking, and she told me that she was bleeding. I rushed her to the hospital immediately, and she told the doctor that she had been experiencing pains in her stomach in the past week, but figured it was from the baby moving around.

"However, after being at the hospital all night last night, the doctor told me that placental abruption had occurred, and the placenta had began detaching from the wall of her uterus."

My eyes widened, because I knew that this could be fatal for both the mother and the child, and I wondered what was going to happen to Sakura and Senri. My bottom lip began quivering as I let Sasuke squeeze my hand so tightly that I thought he was going to break my fingers off of my carpals.

"The doctor told me that there was a possibility that Sakura might not make it, and a high chance that Senri would not live through birth." His grasp tightened on my hand, and I watched in anguish as his body tried to roll itself into the fetal position. "I can't lose them, Hinata."

"Is Sakura still in the hospital?" I asked him.

"They're running tests, trying to figure out what to do," he told me with a trembling voice. "I called Naruto, and he's over there with her now, and I came to get you upon Sakura's request."

I stood up from the island and moved over towards Sasuke, pacing around the giant counter in the middle of the kitchen. He watched me, and loosened his grasp on my hand for a moment. I entwined my fingers with his, giving him every ounce of support that he possibly needed.

"We need to go to the hospital," I directed him sternly. "They could induce labor at any time, if Senri's life was at risk."

He didn't argue whatsoever. Instead, he nodded and said, "okay."

OoO

Sasuke and I rushed to the hospital and made a straightaway for the maternity ward. I let Sasuke lead me through the all-too-familiar hospital, and I followed him into a room, where I saw the back of Naruto's blonde head. He was standing over Sakura, holding her hand as she squeezed so tightly, almost as Sasuke had done to mine.

We quickly moved into the room, and I saw Sakura laying on her side, gripping Naruto's hand and bawling her eyes out. Immediately, I glanced to Sasuke, who fell down to his knees before his goddess. He took her hand from Naruto, and he kissed it tenderly.

A man in scrubs poked his head in the door and scolded us for being in the room, saying that only the mother and father of the child were allowed in at this point in time. Naruto and I followed his direction, and moved out to the waiting room. We didn't look at one another until we reached the room with the multiple chairs and mini wood tables before them, magazines scattered about their surfaces.

Once in the waiting room, Naruto turned around and we embraced so tightly, our concern for our friends equally great. I could feel the anguish that washed off of his body and onto mine, and my angst drifted onto him. Back and forth, our sorrow seeped between our figures until we reached equilibrium.

"I'm scared," I admitted to him, my voice muffled by his chest. Naruto pressed his cheek to the top of my head, and he sighed heavily. I could hear his heart pounding inside of his chest, and I wondered if mine was still going, or if it remained silent from the first moment I saw Sasuke's tears. My arms constricted around Naruto's waist and my hands clutched his back, holding him so tightly.

I didn't know what I would do if something happened to Senri or Sakura. I didn't know what Sasuke would do, and I almost feared an answer. If he lost both his girlfriend and his son, I know that he would be completely distraught, and he wouldn't be able to think rationally. I feared for Sasuke, and I prayed that he wouldn't have to experience the possible pain.

This wasn't supposed to be happening. Sakura was supposed to graduate, and then have Senri with no complications. Everything was fine. But no, this just had to happen to her. I could have fallen to my knees and prayed for both her safety and Senri's survival.

"They'll be okay," Naruto said in an attempt to calm both myself and him. More or less, I feel as though he was trying to convince the both of us that everything would be perfectly fine, that Sakura would walk out of the hospital later today and be okay.

"Naruto..."

We sat in the waiting room all day, huddled in one another's arms, waiting for any word from Sasuke or a doctor to let us know what was going to happen. We never once let go of each other's hand, our fingers never untwining. We were here for each other, and we were here for our friends. We were prepared to stay here all night if we had to.

Minutes ticked by, and suddenly, the morning became afternoon, and afternoon faded quickly into evening. Before we knew it, it was seven o'clock, and nurses in the ward were beginning to switch shifts. Naruto and I were still here, and a few other strangers had come to join us. I recognized Sakura's parents whenever they came in, worried sick about their daughter, but I knew they couldn't take off of work; or they were just now getting word about the situation. Sasuke's parents entered the ward shortly after, and Itachi was with them. He sat down on the chair at my right side, and I watched him, forcing a welcoming smile at him.

He handed Naruto and me a bag of fast food, and I looked at him with a strange expression on my face.

"Sasuke called me and told me to bring something for you two," Itachi explained. "He said you and Naruto have been here all day."

"Thank you," I said, peering into the bag and seeing wrapped burgers with fries scattered over them. To be completely honest, I was so sick to my stomach from the relevant situation that I wasn't hungry at all, despite the fact that I haven't eaten anything since the lava cake last night. However, Itachi went out of his way to bring me food, so I wasn't going to stick my nose up at it. I picked of some of the fries that had spilled on top of the burgers, and bit into them. They tasted so good, and the introduction of food to my mouth caused my stomach to ache in hunger.

"How long have you two been here?" Itachi asked as Naruto and I began to nonchalantly stuff the fast food into our mouths like a pack of wolves. He watched us with curious eyes, and I had the decency to swallow the fries in my mouth before speaking.

"I came here with Sasuke at about eleven thirty this morning," I replied, still clinging to Naruto's hand. "Naruto was here when we got here."

"I see," he said, and I continued to shovel food down my throat. I turned my attention to the burgers that were wrapped snuggly in their paper wrappers, and I grasped on in my free hand, unfolding the paper just enough for the burger to peek out. I glanced over at the parents, standing together in the open area of the waiting room, and they were conversing with one another. Sakura's mother was clearly hiding her hysterics. I felt my sympathy for her growing.

I turned to Naruto, who had downed a sandwich already, and was fishing in the bag for more fries. His appetite never ceased to amaze me, and yet he was still so skinny; his body fat content had to be within the single digits.

"How was prom last night?" Itachi asked me, and I returned my attention to him. I knew that he was only trying to lighten the mood of the room, but I didn't feel like discussing prom to him. Of course, I didn't say this, and didn't let on that I felt this way. Instead, I began talking to him.

"It was nice. I'm sure Sakura and Sasuke would have enjoyed it." I slowed down the pace at which I gobbled the salty French fries so that I could speak clearly to him. "The theme was masquerade, and everybody looked so pretty - of course, you probably got that idea from seeing Ino and Temari."

"That is true." he nodded. "Although, I have to say, you looked quite stunning, yourself," he complimented. I winced in pain as I felt Naruto's grasp on my hand tighten quickly. My head whipped around so I could face him, and he had stopped eating. His other hand was in a tight fist in his lap, and I watched as his jaw clenched.

"What's wrong?" I asked him, touching our conjoined hands. I scanned his angry face for some sort of answer behind his compressing my hand. He didn't say anything, didn't even turn his gaze in my direction. Rather, his eyes were locked on the floor in the center of the room. I watched as his nostrils flared, and I could almost see the rage steaming off of his body. My eyebrows pulled together, because he had acted like this last night before prom, and it was the same reaction that he had had with Kiba. But that was a natural reaction, since Kiba was a "player," or at least that's the word that Sakura always used to describe him.

"It's nothing," Naruto muttered and bit viciously into his sandwich, tearing the thing apart. "Don't worry about it."

"Well of course I'm going to worry about it." I held his hand so tightly, but very gingerly. "You look mad."

Naruto took in a single deep breath and then forced a smile in my direction. I gave him a look that said I knew better than that, but he only leaned forward to kiss my cheek. That didn't suffice, though. I knew he was mad at something, and he wasn't telling me, just like he didn't tell me yesterday. I continued to glare at him, wanting him to tell me what was on his mind.

"So what exactly is wrong with the baby?" Itachi asked me, and I returned my focus to him. He had probably known Sakura a long time, since she and Sasuke had been dating for so long, so she was probably like a little sister to him. I couldn't imagine how concerned he was for her.

"She's having a placental abruption," I told him. "There's a possibility that it could completely detach."

"That's not good." He cupped his hands together and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. His long hair, that was contained in a hair tie at the base of his neck, fell over his right shoulder and flowed down past his thigh.

"No," I sighed and turned my attention to my lap, "it's not."

"Do you think she'll be okay?"

"I'm praying for both her life and for Senri's. I think they'll have to induce labor soon, and that would really risk Senri's life. He'll be a month or so premature, but hopefully he's well-enough developed."

"I hope so." Itachi's eyes flickered towards his parents, who were discussing the situation and possible routes to take with everything that was happening. I was worried about Sakura's mother, and how she was going to react if things didn't go well. "I just hope that the baby makes it. I don't know what Sasuke will do, or how he'll take it. I know he was really looking forward to being a father."

I watched as Itachi puffed air up at his bangs, blowing them out of his face. Definitely, with no doubt, I could see Sasuke in him...or rather, him in Sasuke, since Itachi was older. It was amazing of the resemblance, and it never ceased to amaze me. His eyes flickered towards me, and I felt as though I was caught in Sasuke's gaze. If Sasuke was five years older, he and Itachi could pass as twins.

"Yeah," I agreed with him, a little late on my reply. "I know that he was initially really scared of becoming a father. But as everything set in, I could tell that he was growing excited for the baby to come."

"I noticed the same thing." Itachi sat backwards in his chair, slouching a little bit. "The thing with Sasuke is that he isn't very good at expressing his emotions. I know he cares about so many things, but he just doesn't know how to show it."

I was about to open my mouth to speak, but a doctor came out of the hall leading to the room that Sakura had been in. He was holding a clipboard in his hand and he pushed his glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose.

"Haruno," he called the last name of Sakura, signalling to all of us in the waiting room that he had news for us on our dear beloved. My heart started pounding as Naruto and I rushed in each other's hands to where the doctor stood. Itachi followed us, and the parents reached the man before we did.

I almost crossed my fingers as he opened his mouth to speak to us, to inform us of the current situation and what the professionals felt needed to be done about it.

_Please..._ I begged. _Sakura...Senri..._

"Miss Haruno has lost a lot of blood, and she's experiencing pains in her stomach from the detachment," the doctor told us, and all seven of us stood, completely still. I squeezed Naruto's hand tighter, afraid to hear anything more. "The baby's life will be in danger until he is born, so we're debating inducing her."

"Well if inducing her now will save the baby, why don't you do it?" Naruto shouted out rather bluntly, not knowing the consequences. "What's to debate?"

_Oh, Naruto_. I turned my eyes to the floor so that I would have to see the stare from the doctor. I knew the consequences, and I felt as though there was no way out of this.

"What's to debate is the fact that the baby may not make it either way," the doctor said quickly and to the point, not bothering to beat around the bush. "If we don't induce her now, the placenta could completely break off, which would kill the fetus and the mother. If we do induce, the baby may not make it through his birth."

Now, the truth was hitting Naruto. The facts were slapping him back and forth across his face, and his grasp on my hand contracted as the facts absorbed into his brain.

"No matter what we do, there is a high chance that the baby won't make it."


	32. Chapter 32

_Chapter Thirty-Two_

"No matter what we do, there is a high chance that the baby won't make it," the doctor told us the news, and I could feel my heart plummet to the floor. I didn't want Sakura and Sasuke to lose their baby; I didn't want Senri to never know what life was. I wanted him to meet his parents, because they were some pretty great people. He would have had a good life, I knew.

"Have Sakura and Sasuke decided on a course of action?" Sakura's mother, Misaki, held tight to her husband's, Aoi's, arm. I watched as her eyes grew large with so much concern for her daughter, and she seemed to know that Sakura wouldn't do anything that would risk her son's life.

The doctor turned his eyes to her and shoved his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "She doesn't want to do anything that would result in the baby's death. She has decided to keep holding on as long as possible. As long as the fetus isn't struggling, she said she'll endure the pain. But once the life of the child is jeopardized, she wants to be induced."

I figured as much. I knew that the love Sakura had for Senri was so great, and she wouldn't let anything happen to him. Sakura would hold on to Senri for as long as possible, and Sasuke would hold tight to Sakura. They were a family, and they were not going to let anything tear them apart.

"The best thing that you can do as their families," the doctor continued, "is to go home and get some sleep. You need to continue on with your daily lives, and when something happens - good or bad - the hospital will call you."

How would they contact me if something happens? I didn't have a phone, and Tenten's apartment wasn't equipped with a landline. I would be left out of the loop, and that was not okay with me. Sakura was my best friend, and I wasn't going to spend my time wondering if I would be one of the ones to know if something happened. However, I didn't know what could be done about this. It wasn't like I had any phone number to give them. That was why, when my parents were killed, the police officer had to come find me. He couldn't call to a phone that wasn't there.

"Miss Haruno will be staying at the hospital until the baby is born, or until the bleeding and the pain stops, which is highly unlikely in her condition," the doctor told us and nodded once, turning around and starting back down the hallway.

All of us stood there and watched as he disappeared around the corner, and the air around us grew silent. Nobody breathed a word for such a long time, and we stood still as statues.

I noticed that Misaki turned away from Aoi, and she began dragging her feet in the direction of the exit. Her posture was terrible, and she was slumped over as if somebody had ripped her heart out. It probably felt that way, if not worse; her only daughter was suffering physically and emotionally, and there was nothing that she could do. That had to be the worst feeling, as a parent. I wouldn't know, for the obvious reason that I was not yet a mother.

OoO

Naruto placed both hands on my shoulders and he gazed into my eyes, searching for something. I stared into his ocean eyes, watching him watch me with such intensity. He heat between us burned like a thousand flames, and he sighed, breaking off our connection when he dropped his eyes.

"Let's go home," he told me, and I nodded once, never letting his hand out of my grasp.

Naruto took me back to his house, where we laid on the floor of his living room, simply staring up at the ceiling and thinking through the events of today. It was still just too difficult to believe something so drastic could happen so quickly. Last night, things were fine. Today, they took a turn for the worse.

Minato and Kushina were supportive of our concern for Sakura and Sasuke, and they often offered us beverages or snacks. I could tell that they were worried about the emotional health of their son and his girlfriend, and I appreciated that completely. While I liked living with Tenten and Neji, it was kind of nice to get the support of a parental figure. I really missed my parents, and Naruto's family was the closest thing I had to parents. Of course, Neji was very much like my father, and he was very protective of me. However, it wasn't like having an actual adult who had been through parenting.

"What do you think is going to happen?" Naruto asked me, his voice only a low hum. My eyes never left the internal roof, and I took in a deep breath before giving him a reply.

"I believe that the odds are against them," I said in complete honesty. "Though I'm constantly praying for the safety of Sakura and Senri."

Naruto forced a chuckle, and my eyes rolled around to face him; I wondered why he laughed just now. "You don't sugar-coat anything, do you?"

Oh, that's what it was. I returned his half-hearted laugh and returned my gaze to the ceiling. "No. I believe that honesty is the best way to go."

Naruto rolled over onto his side and propped his head on the palm of his hand. My eyes flickered over to him again, and I wondered what he was thinking about as he examined me with such tender love. He allowed a diminutive smile to creep up the sides of his face, and suddenly the warmth radiated off of his skin.

"I love you, Hinata," he told me, placing a hand over my stomach and holding my hip. "I really do."

"I believe you." I nodded rotating onto my own side so I could watch him. For some reason, the tragedy that was occurring in the lives of our dear friends seemed to bring Naruto and me closer together, and I felt as though the endless love we shared increased tenfold.

He caressed my jaw, stroking my cheek with his thumb, and we sat there, gazing into each other's eyes. He was, with no competition, the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I could never ask for a greater person in my life, and I was completely thankful that he was with me.

"I love you too."

OoO

The days passed on, some dragging their feet, others racing past as if they were practicing for the Olympics. Naruto and I had been spending a great deal more time together, and we often went to visit Sakura in the hospital. Sasuke was coaxed by his parents to return to school and finish strong, that he could always go visit Sakura after school. Quite frankly, I don't think making him go to school was any better for him. I could tell that he wasn't getting any sleep, and he wasn't eating whenever lunch came around. I doubt he was even focusing on his classes, which was completely understandable.

He would drag his feet throughout the hallways, not caring whether or not he was late to his next class. The guys from the basketball team were rapidly growing concerned about him, and I wondered if they knew about what was going on. It was then that I remembered that it was only Naruto and me who had been at the hospital that day with the Harunos and the Uchihas. At the time, I was so concerned about Sakura and Senri that I hadn't taken any notice to it, but now that I was seeing my other friends, I couldn't help but wonder if they knew.

Did they know that Sakura was in so much pain, and that she was fighting for the life of her son? Were they aware of the cause behind Sasuke's terrible emotional state, and why he constantly looked drained and zoned out?

Whether or not they knew it, I couldn't tell them, because it wasn't my place. I was entrusted by Sasuke himself with this issue, and I wasn't going to go talking about it to other people, despite their relationship status with Sasuke. I felt kind of bad keeping this secret from them, but it had to be done.

Ino, I could tell, was beginning to worry about her rival. Whether she admitted it or not, she and Sakura were close friends, and they worried about one another.

Not just friends were concerned with the unknown issue underlying Sakura's absence and Sasuke's sudden withdraw from everything he used to enjoy. I had listened to a lot of the rumors; some said that Sakura and Sasuke broke up. Others are talking about how Sakura moved away, and that she was never coming back. Some even went as far as wondering if Sakura had been in an accident, and had died.

There were so many other rumors, but only Naruto and I knew the truth behind everything. We were the only ones who knew.

About a week after prom, whenever Naruto and I were standing at my locker and retrieving my belongings before leaving school grounds, we were confronted by Shikamaru, Kiba, Ino, and Choji. They came up to us, and I could guess almost immediately what they wanted from us. Naruto was holding onto my bookbag whenever they came up to us, and he turned his attention to our friends.

"What happened with Sakura and Sasuke?" Kiba blurted out bluntly, and my eyes flickered to Naruto, who stared the group down. Was he going to tell them? But we didn't have permission to let them know what was going on. While I felt that they should know, it wasn't my place to decide who the information was worthy to.

"What makes you think we know any more than you do?" Naruto snorted, giving them the cold shoulder when he turned his attention back to me. Oh, I felt so bad for having to treat them like this.

"Pul-lease!" Kiba shouted, almost ready to throw his hands in the air. My eyebrows pulled together as I stuffed my face back into my locker, searching for nothing in particular. I just didn't want to bear the weight of all the heavy stares.

"You two have secluded yourselves," Shikamaru began his argument, and I feared that we may not win with him on the opposing side, "only speaking to each other and to Sasuke. Especially Hinata. She's always sitting next to Sasuke at lunch, and she holds his hand under the table."

_Darn it._

"You guys are hiding something, and we want to know what it is."

"Yeah!" Ino chimed in, raising a clenched fist. "Hinata, I don't know who you think you are, but we've all been with Sasuke and Sakura a lot longer than you have!"

I clutched the door of my locker, and I didn't pull my head out of the darkness. Every word that they said was true, but even so, I didn't have permission to tell them. My body trembled as I could feel the relationships between Naruto and me and the rest of our friends dwindling. They were slipping away from us.

"Shut your mouth, Ino!" Naruto bellowed, clearly angry at the fact that she would say something like that to me. But it was the truth, and no one could deny that. "Hinata's thinking about the well-being of a friend, and you're going to go and say something like that?"

"She's not wrong," Choji took the side of Ino, defending her just as Naruto was defending me. "We've all been close with Sasuke and Sakura for so long. We deserve to know what's happening."

"I never said you didn't." Naruto's hand touched my spine, and I yanked a binder out of my locker, acting as if I had been searching for it the entire time. "But right now, we can't tell you."

"Why the hell not?!" Kiba took a step forwards, only to collide with Shikamaru's arm that held him back. I watched as Kiba gritted his teeth in anger and frustration, and for some reason, it lit a spark of fear inside of me.

"Because Sasuke didn't give us permission to tell you!" Naruto barked at Kiba, and the two were so close to one another, and I feared a fight.

"And since when have you started caring whether or not someone gives you permission to do something or not?!"

"Since my best friend might not want a loudmouth running around telling everybody!"

An impulse hit Kiba, I could tell, and Kiba whipped his fist forwards into Naruto's nose, and Naruto fell backwards onto the ground. That was the final straw; I could no longer take everybody hitting Naruto. I couldn't stand all these fights, and I knew that I had to do something about them before Naruto got back up and returned the favor to Kiba.

That same impulse that had taken its course through Kiba quickly radiated throughout my own body, and I clenched my hand into a fist. Before I knew what my body was doing, my right fist was flying forwards, in the direction of my love's attacker. My mind was racing as the adrenaline pumped throughout my veins, and the moment my knuckles collided with Kiba's nose, I felt bones crackle. I wasn't sure if they were my bones or his, but either way, something broke. All of the anger that I felt had been unleashed, and it had been taken out on Kiba, who mimicked Naruto's moves, falling to his butt on the floor.

By the time I had recollected myself, I found it hard to believe that I had just punched somebody in the face. Kiba, on the other hand, was holding tight to his nose and moaning.

"Dammit, she broke my nose!" he cried out, and all eyes turned to me in disbelief. If I were an onlooker, I, too, would be completely surprised at my actions. I didn't know I was capable of hitting somebody else. However, I did not allow my mask to shatter. I curled my eyebrows inward, and I glared down at my victim with harsh eyes.

"Stop it!" I shouted as loud as I could, which wasn't that loud, but for me, it was earth shattering. I could feel my vocal cords straining as I put out so much noise. "I'm sick of everybody thinking they can go around hitting each other! Especially now; if we can't tell you what happened, we can't tell you!"

"Why can't you tell us?" Shikamaru said calmly, his hands in his jeans pockets. I knew that he wasn't going to try and hit me, or hit Naruto as he returned himself to his feet. My eyes flickered to Naruto, who grasped my trembling fist. I had never felt completely enraged in my entire life, and I never thought I would have had the guts to punch a man in the nose.

"We can't tell you. Sasuke told us for a reason, I believe, and we can't just go around and tell everybody."

"But you're not telling everybody," Ino persisted with the argument, however her tone of voice definitely fell. Now, she was the one being shy. "You're only telling his friends."

"But what if Sasuke doesn't want you to know?" I asked her, my own voice dwindling. I could feel the pulse in my hand; Kiba had a hard face. I may have broken his nose, but I think he might have fractured my hand. It hurt to let Naruto hold it, and I almost wanted to shake him off. But I didn't.

"Why wouldn't Sasuke want us to know?"

"Because maybe he doesn't want you guys to worry," I told them, clenching my teeth as the pain in my hand increased when Naruto entwined his fingers through mine and squeezed. "You criticize me for not being friends with Sasuke and long as you but, it seems, that I can relate to him. He doesn't want people to worry about him, and he doesn't want sympathy. He knows that we connect in that way, and that's why he came to me."

Kiba was still on the ground, holding his profusely-bleeding nose. "Guys, I think you need to take me to the hospital," he grunted, squeezing his eyes shut to endure the pain. I believe that I needed to go to the same place, however I had to work today, and so did Naruto. If I thought positive, maybe it would turn out that my hand wasn't broken.

Shikamaru groaned and rolled his eyes as Ino and Choji picked up the man that I had threw a punch at. "This is such a drag."

"C'mon, Hinata," Naruto said to me, closing the door of my locker and slinging my backpack over his shoulder. "Let's go to work." I nodded at him, and we turned our backs on our friends, who did the same thing, walking in the opposing direction. Naruto held tight to my hand, and it hurt so badly that I thought the bones were going to collapse on one another.

By the time we had gotten outside the building, Itachi was already waiting for us in his pitch-black Jaguar. He had been willing to drive Naruto and me either to work or to home, whichever event the day had in store for us. While I'm sure we would have been okay walking, he insisted on coming and giving us a ride, because Sasuke usually drove us.

Whenever he had offered to drive us, Naruto initially declined the offer, but he continued to insist. I felt that if he really and truly wanted to drive us around, we should let him. Of course, Naruto ended up pouting like a child.

Both Naruto and I climbed into the back seat of the expensive car, met with temperature-controlled leather seats. Naruto let my backpack slide onto the ground, and we both reached behind us to buckle our seat belts.

Itachi turned around and smiled at us. "Hi, guys." He must have seen the anger on our faces, because his beam immediately faded, and he cocked his head. "Whoa. You guys look like you had a bad day."

"Hinata punched Kiba," Naruto muttered, being cold to Sasuke's older brother. I still didn't know why he didn't like Itachi; he was so nice. Itachi raised his eyebrows and smirked.

"Bad ass," he chuckled and turned back around, placing both hands on the steering wheel and jamming the stick into drive. "What did he do this time?"

"He punched Naruto in the face," I murmured, trying so desperately to ignore the throbbing pain within my hand.

Itachi laughed. "Honestly, I was waiting for someone to hit that kid at prom. The way he was talking about you at the party beforehand; he sounded very objectifying of you."

"Oh, it got worse at the actual prom." I rolled my eyes as I remembered how he talked to Naruto about me, and how I had feared a confrontation between the two that night. I liked Kiba, I really did, but sometimes he took things too far.

"What did he say?"

"That Naruto was lucky, because the quiet girls are always the craziest in bed," I spoke, shuttering at the sound of that comment. I didn't like it one bit, and it made me blush. Thinking about that made me feel a whole lot better for throwing a punch at him.

"He disgusts me," Naruto snarled. I placed my left hand on his thigh and turned to him.

"I thought you two were friends."

"We were. But when we first started dating, all he could think about was the idea of me "smashing" you." His eyes flickered to mine, and I hoped that he could see the confusion in my eyes, because I had no idea what he meant by 'smash.' "Smash is pretty much really good - but completely meaningless - sex."

"Oh." I blushed, and allowed my eyes to fall to our laps.

"He kept asking me about it, continued to objectify you. I got tired of it, and I cut the ties between us."

I ended a friendship between Naruto and Kiba? I know that Kiba can be a loudmouth and completely annoying, but to terminate a friendship because of it. I almost felt guilty.

"So then why did he hit Naruto today?" Itachi asked, his curiosity spiking. I watched as his eyes flickered to the rearview mirror, and our eyes locked for only an instant.

"Because they didn't like the fact that we wouldn't tell them what's happening with Sasuke and Sakura," Naruto answered swiftly, and he ran his hand along my bare thigh. Immediately, goosebumps sprouted across my flesh, and I felt cold. However, I didn't slap away his hand, because the brushing of his fingertips across my skin felt nice. He kissed the side of my cheek affectionately, and he was so cute that I could have screamed and glomped him. But I contained myself, because the last time we got heated in a car, we almost got into an accident.

"Why didn't you tell them?" Itachi asked, turning into the parking lot of the mall, driving around to the side closest to the bookstore.

"Because it's not our duty to tell them. Sasuke didn't give us permission to let others know about what's happening, so we're keeping it quiet," I explained. Itachi pulled over to the side of the road, where the entrance to the mall awaited Naruto and me. Naruto was quick to jump out of the car, only giving Itachi a quick thanks. I crawled out of the back seat and planted my feet firmly on the pavement, turning around to give Itachi a gracious smile, of which he returned to me.

My hand throbbed inside of Naruto's grasp, and I winced in pain. I had to make it through this long shift, and Naruto would walk me home, and I would have Neji take me to the hospital. I couldn't let Naruto know that I was experiencing a massive amount of discomfort, so I covered my pain with a mask and took a deep breath, preparing myself to be strong. I had to make it until eleven o'clock.

Honestly, if I could punch Kiba in the face, I could surely tough out the griping in my hand for seven hours. It would prove challenging, but I thought of Sakura, who was experiencing both physical and emotional excruciation, and she was holding on without complaint. She was enough motivation for me, and there was no question to whether or not I could do it.


	33. Chapter 33

_Chapter Thirty-Three_

Neji sat across from me at the island in the middle of the little kitchen in Tenten's apartment, examining my right hand. He looked tired, but nothing that caused him to nod off in mid-conversation. Despite his fatigue, he seemed to be in a good mood, which caused me to wonder what he was doing before I got home.

"I can't tell if it's broken or not," he told me, cradling it softly in both of his hands, sheltering it. "I think, at least, it's sprained."

Tenten appeared in my peripheral vision, and my eyes automatically flickered in the direction of her movement. Her bed shorts looked more to me like athletic shorts, and she wore a loose T-shirt that hung off of her shoulders, giving her no figure whatsoever. Her bare feet brushed against the ground so softly and gracefully that I barely heard her coming.

"What's wrong?" she asked me, shoving her hands in her pockets and stopping right behind Neji. Her hip brushed his back, and she leaned over his shoulder and examined my bruising hand.

"She punched Kiba Inuzuka in the face," Neji told her, and I could hear a hint of pride in his voice. Tenten's eyes grew wide, clearly flabbergasted at the fact that I had gained the nerve to throw a punch at a guy. "She may have broken her hand in the process."

"Should we take her to the hospital?" Tenten questioned, continuing to observe all of the contours of the topside of my hand. Neji placed my hand gingerly on the surface of the table and stood up; Tenten moved backwards so he didn't run into her. He placed his hands on his hips and couldn't seem to break the glue between his eyes and my purple flesh. I watched as Tenten turned around and grabbed her keys off of the ring that was mounted on the wall.

"Probably. I think it may be better safe than sorry," he replied and shattered his gaze, his eyes flickering instead to Tenten. They shared a tiny little moment, and I glanced away, giving them their moment. They reminded me of myself and Naruto, and I couldn't help but feel so happy for my cousin. He had finally found someone that could make him happy; she had been here all along, waiting for him to come running to her.

"Come on," Neji told me, and I stood up off of the stool, moving around the island and coming to his side. I held my right hand with my left, cradling it like a child at my sternum. I didn't dare try to flex it, because I had really worked it whenever I was completing my shift at the bookstore. By the time my shift ended, I was gritting my teeth and continuing to keep it a secret from Naruto. He was already worrying about Sasuke and Sakura, so he didn't need to concern himself more with my own pain.

Together, like a family, we paced towards the door, where Tenten opened it and allowed both Neji and me to pass through, before she walked out. Closing the door behind her, Tenten shoved her key into the lock and twisted, locking the door. Neji and I had turned around at the acme of the steps, waiting for her. When she revolved in our direction, we started down the stairs, taking them casually.

Out of my peripheral vision, I noticed Neji glance backwards at Tenten. I didn't know if he mouthed anything, or if he had smiled. But he did turn to her, and my heart warmed. No words could express how happy I was for them. But I couldn't help but think that, while something good happened between one couple, something tragic was occurring with another. Sakura... she was in pain, despite the fact that Neji had found his happiness. Someone in my life was so happy, while another suffered.

I wondered if I would see Sasuke in the hospital; probably not. He would probably be staying by Sakura's side the entire time. Would I run into Kiba? No, he would probably already be done there. I wondered if he had seen Sasuke.

The air outside of the apartment was breezy, blowing under my clothes and cooling the skin of my stomach. It gently whipped my hair backwards over my shoulder, and I almost stopped and turned my eyes to the black sky above us. There were hardly any stars out, at least none that the naked eye could see. That was a disadvantage to living in a town; there were lights that blocked out the beauty of a starry night. My eyes scanned the black ocean, searching for the moon, but I couldn't seem to find it. Maybe it was hiding behind the apartment building.

Tenten unlocked her maroon four-door car from the driver's position, and Neji had indirectly claimed shotgun. I was left with the entire back seat to myself. Neji opened my door for me, and I crawled in carefully, cautious about where I placed my right hand. It was awkward, having to use my left hand to reach around myself to grab the seat belt that hung at my right shoulder. Neji slammed my door shut and plopped down into the passenger seat in front of me. Tenten was already seated, and she had started the car, which groaned at the rude awakening.

Immediately after Neji had yanked his own door closed, Tenten threw the vehicle in drive and pulled out onto the dead silent road. It was almost as if the rest of the town was asleep, and we were the only ones awake. However, I knew that wasn't true. I was positive that Sasuke would be conscious, clinging to Sakura's hand as she endured the pain in her stomach. Misaki Haruno was most likely getting as much sleep as her daughter's boyfriend.

I continued to pray for the safety of both Sakura and Senri. Perhaps, if I thought about them enough, I could send some kind of positive force to them and prevent Senri's grim fate. The logical side of my brain told me to quit being so naive; it demanded that I should face the inevitable truth: Senri's odds of making it out are slim. Even if he were to survive through until his induced birth, he may still suffer from being premature, which may kill him. Or it is possible that he may be born, already dead.

_Stop it!_ I screamed inside of my mind, trying so desperately to push those thoughts out of my mind. _He can't die! _

Senri; he had to be born. He had to live through his birth, and he had to meet his parents. His parents - Sasuke and Sakura - they were such great people, and they would love that child to death. Their son...whether or not he makes it may determine the future status of Sakura and Sasuke's relationship.

If he didn't make it, there was a chance that Sakura and Sasuke might blame one another for their son's death. That would completely tear them apart...

I turned my eyes out the window, watching as we passed by buildings and small businesses. Everything outside was so content, despite the fact that a dear friend of mine was suffering so gravely. It was so quiet, it was as if nobody cared that Senri might die. If nobody cared, then...

That's when the knowledge I had had all along hit me: the world will go on revolving, whether or not Senri lived or died. The world didn't care whether or not Sakura would be emotionally scarred for the rest of her life. It couldn't care less if Sasuke lost his unborn son, who he already cherished more than life itself.

I clutched my chest with my left hand and choked on the air that I attempted to breathe in. I could feel myself wanting nothing more than to shelter myself in a hole, secluded from the tortures of the world. It wasn't fair! Senri couldn't die!

Senri...I loved him already. He would have had such a great life with his parents and with his entire family. I believe that he would have gotten smothered with love, care, and affection. As a mix of Sasuke and Sakura, he would have been the cutest boy in elementary school, and most likely the best dressed. He would have been the smartest kid in his class, and probably one of the teacher's favorites. He would have been strong, like his father, and have a will of steel like his mother. He would have loved and been loved by every person he met, and would always come home to the warm embrace of somebody who cared about him.

As I image everything Senri would have been, I forced my will to become stronger. I couldn't let go of him; I had to cling to Senri with everything I had. I couldn't let him die. His parents were probably losing hope as every moment passed by them, and somebody had to hang onto him, to help bring him into this world.

_Senri..._ I called out to him, returning my moist eyes to the night sky. _Don't be scared. You're going to live._

The warmth of my tears slithered down my face, and I squeezed my eyes shut so tightly, my eyelids trembled. Every part of my body felt the pain of the idea of losing Senri. He wasn't my child, but even so, I loved him so dearly. He was precious to me, and I would never let him go.

_I promise._

OoO

We had been at the hospital for hours, most of the time being taken to process the X-rays that I underwent. Neji, Tenten and I had been sitting in the waiting room since midnight, and I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. I wanted to go visit Sakura and see how she was doing, but if she was sleeping, I certainly didn't want to wake her. I wanted to know if she was still feeling the pain in her stomach, or if the bleeding had persisted. I wanted to know how Senri was holding up.

By the time I had gotten a cast plastered onto my fractured carpels, I couldn't wait any longer to see Sakura. I tried so hard to keep away from the maternity ward, however, as we moved through the hospital, I had received a sign that I was supposed to meet with her.

Sasuke appeared at the other end of the hallway, and when the two of us caught one another's glance, we stopped dead in our tracks. I felt as though I hadn't seen him in forever, when in reality, I had seen him today at school. In complete and total honesty, he looked like the embodiment of a dead man who had risen from the grave. His eyes were dark and exhausted, but I was aware that he couldn't get sleep, even if he wanted to. His racing brain prevented him from rejuvenating himself through REM sleep.

"Sasuke..." I murmured and took my steps at twice the speed as I had initially been walking. I needed to be here for Sasuke, because he needed someone, quite possibly anybody. But I had promised him that I would always be here for him; I would always be the shoulder that he could cry on. He didn't move, and I didn't mind going the distance for him. After all, we were friends.

When I got close enough, Sasuke opened his mouth to speak to me, attempting to lighten the expression on his face. He didn't have to try for me. I knew he was hurting, and that's why I was always going to be the person that he could come running to.

"What did you do to your hand?" he asked me, noticing the dark purple cast that covered my hand and forearm. I almost laughed, feeling silly for having to tell him about the fight today.

"I kind of punched Kiba in the nose," I chuckled, trying to laugh it off. Sasuke actually smirked a bit, and I internally drew in a breath. That was the first time in weeks that he had even come close to a smile.

"Why?" he asked. "I mean, he probably deserved it, but to get it from you?"

"Well..." I shrugged, wondering if I should even bother concerning Sasuke with the fight between Naruto and me with the rest of our friends. "Kiba, Shikamaru, Choji and Ino confronted us at my locker today. They were mad at us because they suspected that we knew the reason why you were so disheveled. Naruto and I had decided that we weren't going to tell anybody, just for the fact that we didn't know if you wanted them to know. Kiba got mad and punched Naruto. Of course, you've punched Naruto, Neji has punched Naruto, and now Kiba. I got really frustrated with everybody hitting him in the face, so I felt the need to do something about it."

Sasuke forced a chuckle and shoved his hands into his pockets. "So you break your hand." He shook his head lightly. "Yeah, Hinata; you show him who's boss."

I held up my casted hand. "I broke his nose, though," I said with a grin, trying to keep Sasuke in as good a mood as possible.

"Sakura is awake," he told me, shoving a thumb behind his shoulder, pointing in the direction from which he had come. "Do you want to see her?"

I had been restraining myself so much so, attempting not to bring up the subject of Sakura or Senri, but because he was the one who initiated it, I couldn't just change the topic. Rather, I turned around to look at my cousin and Tenten, who stood at each other's side, giving Sasuke and me space. Whenever Neji had noticed my eyes on him, he came forwards, dragging Tenten along by her hand.

"You guys can go home," I told them, not bothering to ask. I am eighteen, and I wasn't going to let anybody tell me that I couldn't stay here and see my best friend. "I'm going to stay with Sasuke." While I was half-expecting him to argue with my staying here with someone of the male gender, he didn't put up a fight. Rather, he nodded silently.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked me quietly, and I gave him a soft smile. He was concerned about me, but he wasn't allowing it to consume him. Quickly, I nodded, and for the first time in a while - maybe even for the first time ever - Neji wrapped his arms around my shoulder and constricted me into a tight hug. I could hear a heavy exhale come from his nostrils, and I sighed too, really feeling close to Neji. I loved him, of course; he was my only cousin, and the only family I had left. By blood, that is. However, I had a large family now; all of my friends were now my family. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, Shikamaru and Temari, Choji and Ino, Minato and Kushina, Itachi, Tenten, even Kiba. They were all a part of my family now, and I could never ask for a greater gift.

Actually, I could; I wanted Senri's safety. I wanted him to survive. I wanted him to join my family.

"I'll see you at home, okay?" Neji held me out at arm's length and gazed down into my face gingerly. I could see the fatigue in his face now, how his eyes seemed overly tired. He probably could have fallen asleep in the emergency room lobby.

"Okay," I said, nodding and watching as he reached back behind him, searching for Tenten's hand. She held it out for him, and he took it in his grasp, locking his fingers with hers. I couldn't help but smile a little bit as I watched them trudge off together in each other's hands.

When they were out of ear's reach, Sasuke turned his dim charcoal eyes to me. "When did they become a thing?" he asked me, and my gray eyes flickered to meet his gaze.

"I guess the night that I was away at prom," I told him, and he began leading me in the direction of the maternity ward. "I came home to find them in the shower together."

"That's always a fun time," he said, and I could tell by the tone in his voice that he was reminiscing about times that were much easier than now. I knew that his life would be so much simpler, had Senri not come along, and I knew that he knew it, too. However, I was also certain that he would never wish away the gift that had been bestowed upon him. He made life. "How are you and Naruto doing?" he asked me, despite the fact that he had seen us just today.

"We're doing well, thank you."

"I'm really glad that he found you, Hinata," Sasuke confided, and I blinked in astonishment. I didn't know what was so great about myself, if anything, _I_ should be ecstatic that _I_ found _him_. Then again, maybe there was some truth to Sasuke's words; it didn't matter that I found Naruto, because for so long, he didn't even know of my existence. If he didn't find me, then none of this would have ever happened. "He's a lot happier now."

"He is?" This baffled me; all the time, whenever I watched him, Naruto always seemed to be joyous and ecstatic about everything. He had so much energy, and I doubt he ever had enough time in a day to release it all. How could he be any happier than what he formerly was?

"Yeah. I don't know if he told you this, but all through middle school and freshman year, he had the biggest crush on Sakura."

"I know; he mentioned it," I said, and I couldn't help but to feel a little jealous of my best friend. I love Sakura, and of course, she couldn't help it that Naruto had been attracted to her. She was pretty and she was intelligent.

"Well, I sort of felt bad for him whenever Sakura asked me to homecoming, and we just started dating after that. I mean, he lost the girl he had a crush on for five years to his best friend. He told us that he was okay with it, but something else told me that he was crushed on the inside.

"However, after falling for Sakura, there was no way I was going to let her go. I was just too selfish. But he found you, and he's no longer the third wheel - or fifth wheel, if it was the three of us and Shikamaru and Temari. I think he really loves you."

I couldn't help but to smile shyly and turn my eyes to the floor. I could feel my face heating up, forming a blush. For so long - for about as long as Naruto had had his eye set on Sakura - I have been admiring Naruto, and wanting to talk to him. I've wanted nothing more than for him to acknowledge me. But now? I wanted him to love me as much as I loved him. I could only pray that he did, but Sasuke could see it. Maybe his feelings for me were as great as mine for him.

"I hope so." I returned my gaze to him and he gave me a warm smile. When I turned my eyes to our surroundings, I recognized the familiar waiting room of the maternity ward, and I almost stopped. For some reason, I remembered how Naruto had gotten angry whenever Itachi had come over to us, despite the fact that he had come bearing food. "Why does Naruto get mad when your brother is around?" I asked Sasuke, feeling that he would know the answer better than anybody - of course, besides Naruto.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and turned his effete eyes towards me, clearly confused and unaware of what I was talking about. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"He just gets...really tense. At the party before prom, his grip tightened on my knee whenever Itachi was asking me if I wanted anything to drink. His muscles always clench when he talks to me, and I notice that he grinds his teeth."

Sasuke continued to lead me down a hall branching off from the waiting room, and one of the lights above our heads flickered. "I've never noticed that before," he told me. "Naruto and Itachi had always gotten along. The only thing that has changed is the fact that you two are dating now." His thoughts stopped, being left behind as his body continued to move forwards. "Maybe he's jealous."

"Of what?" I asked, genuinely unsure of why he would allow jealousy to infect him. It wasn't like I was going anywhere. I had spent so many years waiting for him to notice me; there was no way that I would let that time get thrown away, because it was worth it.

"Of my brother. Of other men in general," Sasuke thought aloud, shrugging. "I mean, Itachi isn't a bad-looking guy. Actually, he's a stud, and the ladies love him. Naruto knows that women sometimes throw themselves at him, and he sometimes accepts their offer. Maybe he's afraid that you'll fall for him, too."

"No, never!" I gasped, almost unable to stomach the idea of abandoning Naruto for another man. Itachi was great and all, but he wasn't the blonde-haired boy that I had been secretly chasing for seven years. "I do agree that Itachi is a very attractive man, but he's not Naruto." I shook my head. "I would never give Naruto up for the likes of another man. I love him, with my whole mind, body, and soul. I am his for as long as I live."

"I'm glad," Sasuke said honestly, and he led me into a room that the same as the one that I had found Naruto and Sakura in about two weeks ago. Sakura was still laying on her side, huddling herself in the fetal position. Her color was completely drained from her skin, and when her eyes flickered towards me, I noticed that the shine in her emerald eyes had faded. She was completely exhausted, and it was understandable. Forcing a smile in my direction, she repositioned her head on the pillow that the hospital had provided.

There was an IV sticking out of of her arm, and it almost made me cringe. It had to be uncomfortable for her, but I guess she would endure it without complaint, if it could help save Senri.

"Hey, Hinata." Her voice was diminished, most of the life drained out of her. I moved past Sasuke and I dropped to my knees in front of her, grabbing onto her hand and entwining my fingers with hers. I missed Sakura, and it hurt to see her now with the life sucked out of her. Her hair had lost most of its luscious shine, and I brushed it out of her face.

"How are you holding up?" I asked her softly, fighting back the sadness that I had felt in the car when Tenten was driving me here. Now, I could empathize with Sasuke; I knew exactly why he was devoid of life at school. Seeing Sakura like this, it completely tore me apart.

"I'm holding on," she said with a smile. "Senri is still being strong, too. Although he still insists on kicking me." Both of us chuckled half-heartedly. Sakura was so strong. She was hanging on to her unborn son, clinging to him and giving him all of her life. She didn't look so well, though. I wondered if she was losing too much blood, and what was the hospital doing about it?

I thought about the first time I had actually met Sakura - in English class last year. She was always so kind to me, and she acted like a true friend; one that I never really had. She had given me so much, both sentimental things and monetary items. I was thankful for everything she had given me, and for everything she had done for me. She was my best friend, and I loved her.

I was choking up, and the pain that ripped through me consumed every part of my being. When she had first come to me with the thought that she might be pregnant, we never thought that this could happen. The worst we were afraid of was the reactions of family and friends, and what Sakura was going to do about not being able to go to college immediately. Never once had something like this slipped into our minds. We were unprepared for this.

"Don't cry, Hinata," Sakura spoke weakly, her voice cracking. "You're going to make _me_ cry." I shook my head, as a symbol of my apology. It's not like I wanted to cry. But the pain was too great. It bubbled up through my body and devoured me relentlessly. My tears, like she had just said, triggered Sakura's tears, and the two of us wept together. We were scared, and we were both in some sort of pain. But, most of all, we both feared the survival of Senri.

For me, now, after seeing her so drained, I had a second fear that was even more terrifying than the first.

_I don't want you to die..._


	34. Chapter 34

_Chapter Thirty-Four_

I layed in my bed, consumed in the darkness of my room. I had been at the hospital all night, and Sasuke had just driven me home. He was taking a shower in the bathroom, because I felt it pointless for him to run all the way to his house to take a shower, only to come back to pick me up. I had changed my clothes, but I didn't bother taking a shower. My mind was still completely focused on Sakura and Senri.

She had told me that the doctors didn't want her moving around too much, because the placenta was torn halfway. As long as Senri wasn't struggling, they wouldn't induce labor. However, she often felt weak, and I knew it was due to all of the blood that she lost. If Senri's movements began to dwindle, and he seemed as if he wasn't moving around as much, they would have to induce labor, no matter what.

Due to this aspect, Sakura would not be able to attend graduation next week. She wouldn't be able to walk with us and receive her diploma in front of an of Konoha. Of course, she was upset by this, but she told me that the life of Senri meant so much more to her than anything else in this world. Whenever Sasuke had left the room to use the restroom, she told me that she was willing to die, if it meant that Senri would get to live.

I didn't want her to die... She couldn't die. She couldn't die, and Senri couldn't die. They both needed to live. I don't care if I am being selfish about this; I wanted them to live. I don't think I would be able to accept it, if they were to leave us. Sakura and Senri were a vital part of my life now, and they couldn't be taken away from me; I won't allow it.

I heard the door of my bedroom open up, and I rolled over in immediate response to it. Sasuke stood in the doorway, completely naked - besides the towel hugging his hips. I could see what all the girls at Konoha had been freaking out about; Sasuke was, indeed, a stunning man. The water that dribbled down his skin glistened in the light that poured in behind him.

"Do you have any extra clothes that will fit me?" he asked me, and I jumped up off of my bed, blushing as I moved past him. My shoulder brushed his, and some of the hot water that had beaded on his deltoid transferred to mine.

"Neji has some clothes that he doesn't wear anymore," I told him as I bounded a few steps down the hall and turned into the room that Neji and Tenten shared. Both of them had left for work before Sasuke and I had returned to the apartment, so I didn't get to see either of them. I'm sure Neji wouldn't mind if Sasuke borrowed some clothes.

"Thanks." He followed me like a lost puppy into my cousin's room, and I flicked on the light, immediately moving towards the closet. When I opened it, I expected it to be no less organized than how Neji had kept his room, back when we lived with my parents. Everything had a place, and if something was out of that place, it had to be fixed instantaneously. His clothes and Tenten's were divided - his clothes on the top rack, her's on the bottom. I assumed this was because he was taller than she was.

It wasn't too difficult to rip out a pair of jeans and a white button-down shirt. I had no doubt that they would have no trouble fitting on Sasuke, because both he and Neji were physically fit. Sasuke's muscles were larger than Neji's, however. But it wasn't like he was bodybuilder big.

I handed Sasuke the clothes, and he returned a gracious "thank you." I left him alone in my cousin's room, pulling the door shut behind me as I exited. Absentmindedly, I moved to the main part of the apartment, where the couch and the television were seated, and I threw myself down on the sofa.

I knew Sasuke was trying to put on a brave face for me, and after seeing Sakura yesterday, I attempted to do the same thing for him. Right now, I knew that neither one of us wanted to go to school today. Instead, we would much rather stay here, and probably get the sleep that eluded us last night.

Even when Sakura had fallen asleep last night - or earlier this morning, I should say - neither Sasuke nor I could find the will to drift off into unconsciousness. We didn't want anything to happen to her or to Senri, just because we were tired and wanted sleep. If it would save them, I would stay awake until Senri was born. I would make that sacrifice for them, because I loved them.

I don't know what Sasuke will do if something happens to either one of them - or to both of them. Those thoughts even haunted me, swirling around viciously inside my mind, never letting me feel at peace. I hated the logical side of my brain, the part that told me that Senri's odds of living are slim at best. Sasuke and I were so much alike, that I just had to wonder: did those thoughts ever cross his mind? That had to kill him.

My thoughts flickered to our high school graduation that was coming up in eight days. Sasuke was the top of our class, so he was our valedictorian. He had to give some sort of speech about life after high school. But I knew that if Sakura wasn't able to go, he wouldn't want to attend, either. He would want to stay by the side of his lover and his unborn son, and he would want nothing more than to be there for him and hold her hand.

Did he even begin writing his speech yet? It was difficult to say, because he had been spending most of the last two weeks in the hospital with Sakura. If he didn't start it yet, I think I would be willing to write it for him, or at least help him. I wanted to do everything I could to make his life easier. If it meant taking a few hours to write a perfect farewell speech, then I would do it without a second thought.

I heard footsteps coming in my direction from the hallway, and I sat up on the couch, fixing the hair that had gotten disheveled when I plummeted to the couch. Sasuke was coming towards, me, buttoning the shirt from top to bottom. The lace-up combat boots that he had been wearing yesterday were laying under the coffee table, and I bent over, reaching out with my right hand, only to realize that I couldn't grab anything with this cast inhibiting me. Instead, I had to switch hands, momentarily becoming an untalented left-handed person. When I picked them up, I had to use more muscle than I thought; they were really heavy.

"Thank you," he said whenever I forfeited them over to him with an outstretched arm. I watched as he sat down in the reclining chair to my left, shoving his feet into the boots almost viciously. I watched as his fingers moved quickly, tightening the strings and then tying them tightly into bunny-eared knots. "Thank you," Sasuke said again, resting his elbows on his knees and turning his gaze to me. I cocked my head at him. "For everything. You have no idea how much the little things you do mean to me." He chuckled lightly. "You must think I'm crazy for being so weak; I mean, I'm supposed to be the strong person."

I brushed a strand of hair away from my cheek. "I heard your brother say something at one point in time: 'every strong man has a weak point.' Sasuke, your weak point is Sakura, and it has been Sakura for longer than you think. Now that she's pregnant with Senri, your weak point has expanded. It's the same switched around. Sakura is weak for you, and it's because she loves you."

"Even still," he clasped his hands together and pressed the knuckles of his thumbs to his chin, "I don't want to be weak. I feel...completely useless."

"You're not!" I shook my head. "You're doing all that you're capable of, and Sakura sees that. She would never ask for anything more."

"But all that I'm capable of isn't good enough," he murmured, choking slightly on his words. "Right now, I need the power to save them, and it's power that I don't have." I let my eyes fall to the floor, and I sighed. There was nothing that I could say that would help him, because no words could ever possibly have the power to restore the health back to Sasuke's girlfriend and son. The only thing that we - as bystanders - can do is keep holding on.

_Sasuke..._

Sasuke stood up gradually and put his hands into the pockets of Neji's jeans. "Let's go to school."

OoO

School seemed... different today. Sasuke and I were completely exhausted from being up all night last night, and Naruto took notice to my fatigue. He was also quick to spot the cast that smothered my hand and forearm, and concern had plastered all over his face. In relation to that, Kiba had thick, white bandages covering his nose. While there was still some tension between Naruto and me with the rest of our friends, we all managed to sit at lunch together. They had come over to join us, and I think they wanted to see if they could get anything out of Sasuke.

Sasuke didn't want to talk about it, that much was certain. Shikamaru ended up keeping the peace between everybody, because I'm sure he thought that fights were a drag. Ino and Choji weren't sitting next to each other, as they had been doing for a while. Rather, Choji sat across from Sasuke at the end of the long table. Next to him was Shikamaru, and then Kiba. Next to Kiba was Ino, and she was practically snuggled against a man that I had never seen before.

I was confused; Ino and Choji had seemed so close, and now, here she was with this pale white guy with short, raven black hair. He was extremely skinny - almost scrawny - and I still couldn't seem to figure out who he was. I don't recall ever seeing him before, however he couldn't be a new student, because the school year was ending in a week from today. No matter who he was, Choji didn't look too happy about the fact that he had been ditched for this other man.

Naruto's hand caressed my right knee, because we usually held hands under the table, however my right hand was unable to dance with his. I didn't mind his touch on my bare flesh, but I had to contain myself and make sure it didn't arouse me too much. The black and white dress that I was wearing today barely reached my lower thigh, and at times, Naruto's fingers brushed up and down the length of my leg, creating goosebumps along my flesh.

"So why does Hinata look so tired today, too?" Kiba asked, taking notice to my exhausted facial expressions. I barely had enough energy to sit up straight at the table. My tired eyes flickered over to Kiba, immediately taking in the sight of his bandaged nose. I think we were okay; it seemed to be that men could duke it out and be friends again the next day. I guess I was one of the guys?

"She didn't get home from work until eleven fifteen," Naruto snorted at him, and I remembered that he told me that he and Kiba were no longer friends. "And it didn't help that she had to go to the hospital at midnight to get her hand X-rayed and casted."

I didn't make it a public announcement that I had stayed at the hospital overnight with Sasuke, because then the entirety of the table would concern themselves with the reason behind Sasuke's being at the hospital. He didn't make it a point to speak up, either, so I was in no rush to tell them. I hadn't even told Naruto yet. I sort of had to wonder about whether or not he was jealous of the other guys that talked to me, like Sasuke said he was. It was kind of cute, but he had nothing to worry about. I was going to be staying by his side for the long run.

"I guess that would count as an eye for an eye," Kiba chuckled, pointing towards his broken nose. "My nose breaks, your hand breaks. I guess we're good, huh, Hinata?"

I couldn't help but to laugh with him, because I couldn't seem to stay mad. I didn't have the heart to stay mad. "I guess so." I nodded at him, holding up my right hand with the artificial exoskeleton.

"At least people can sign your cast," he muttered. "Any pressure that touches my nose hurts like a bitch." He twirled his spaghetti noodles on the plastic fork provided by the school.

"Who would have guessed little Hinata Hyuga could pack a punch, huh?" Ino chimed in, unusually giddy. The boy at her hip smiled at me, and my eyes flickered to Naruto, who quickly turned his harsh glare to his half-eaten lunch.

"Who is this guy, Ino?" he asked her almost rudely, obviously the only one brave enough to ask the question that we were all thinking. Ino turned to the dark-haired boy and smiled sweetly at him.

"This is Sai," she said, belatedly introducing him to the table. "He's an art student."

"Really?" I asked, immediately fascinated. I loved art - clearly, because I was involved in all of the musical arts. I had never tried my hand at actual art. "What kind of work do you do?"

"I paint, mostly," Sai told me, and I could tell that I had gotten him on a topic that he didn't mind talking for hours about. "Sometimes, I draw, but they're mostly doodles on tests and quizzes."

"How fun." I smiled at him before turning my attention back to Sasuke, who was so quiet, I could have forgotten he was sitting next to me. Under the table, I interlocked my thumb with his, holding his hand carefully. It was evident in my eyes that he was in pain, and he attempted to release some of it by squeezing my left hand.

_It's okay, Sasuke._ I wanted to say out loud, but I had to keep the situation at bay a secret. _I'm here._

The bell rang, and each of us at the table dragged our feet in getting up and gathering our belongings in one pile and trash in a separate pile. We were seniors about to graduate, and senior-itus was infecting all of us. Choji was the first to storm off with Shikamaru following closely behind him. Kiba stalked the two of them, and Ino and Sai took their time moving towards the doors. Naruto and I were standing with Sasuke, falling behind the pile of people that packed into the exit doors of the lunchroom.

"Hey, Hinata?" Sasuke spoke up, and both Naruto and I turned around to face him. Naruto had moved to my left side, so that he was able to clutch my hand. "Do you think you could help me write my valedictorian speech?" he asked. "I mean, you don't have to; you've done so much for me alrea-"

"Of course I'll help you, Sasuke," I replied with a tiny little smile. "I'd be willing to write the entire thing for you. You're my friend, and hardships have befallen you. I'll do anything I can to help."

It was as if my words had lifted an entire weight off of Sasuke's shoulders, and he sighed with the release of pressure. "Thank you, so much. Do you mind coming to the hospital again tonight? We can write it when Sakura falls asleep."

"Yeah," I nodded, "what time?"

"Would you be willing to come after school with me?" he asked, and I could see in his eyes that he was wondering if he was stretching his luck with me. Never; I was very patient, and I would succumb to any need to make his life easier.

"Of course." I nodded.

"Hinata, thank you so much," Sasuke expressed his gratitude towards me. "You have no idea how much of a great friend you are." He turned away and started toward the dwindling mass of people, leaving Naruto and me by ourselves to catch up with the rest of the crowd. We weren't in any hurry to split up and depart to the only class that we didn't have together, but no matter how much time we took, we knew we would have to separate eventually.

My mind was not on English class; it was as far away from the school as possible. Sakura would be due to give a natural birth in less than a month, and I wondered if she could really hold on until then. I didn't doubt her willpower, but the thoughts were not necessarily eliminated from my mind.

After school, Naruto and I went to one another's lockers, like we did every day. However, we would not be walking home together today; we, again, were parting ways. He was going to be headed home, and I was going to be meeting Sasuke in the lobby, and the two of us were going to be driving to the hospital. I didn't mind if I had to stay there all night again. I would be selfish, if I complained about my lack of sleep, while Sakura and Sasuke suffered over the situation involving the life of their child.

I leaned on the locker next to Naruto's, my fingertips brushing against the smooth, icy surface of the locker door. The hard shell that coated my hand clinked against the metal, making a louder noise than it should have. Naruto didn't look all that happy right now, and I didn't know what was wrong with him; because I didn't know what was the matter, I wasn't sure how to approach making him feel better. Not wanting to make it worse, I simply stayed quiet while giving him the comfort of another person with him.

"You were at the hospital all last night, weren't you." The way he said it, it was as if he knew, and was merely stating; it wasn't a question, and that was evident to my ears. It wasn't like I was hiding it, so I didn't deny it.

"Yes, I was," I replied, dropping my eyes to the floor as Naruto squatted down to reach for something at the bottom of his locker. "I wasn't going to bother them, but I ran into Sasuke, who asked if I wanted to see Sakura."

I could see that the topic of Sakura pained him, and a part of me just had to wonder if his former feelings for him were shining through. While I understood why he had had a crush on Sakura - I mean, she was beautiful and confident - I couldn't help but think that he might choose her over me, if she came to him.

"How is she?" he asked, the tone of his voice heavy, as if he didn't want to know the answer to his question. I couldn't help but think about how terrible she looked, how exhausted her face was, and how drained her eyes were when they turned to me. She wasn't even halfway through the amount of time that she needed to suffer through, in order to keep Senri the safest. When I saw her last night, she looked so weak, and I wondered if she would be able to make it.

"She's holding on with everything she has," I told him, allowing my eyes to drift to the locker at my right hip. I didn't want to see the pain in Naruto's face. "She's lost a lot of blood, but her main focus is keeping Senri alive."

_"Don't tell Sasuke,"_ Sakura's voice echoed in my head, and an arrow struck me through my chest, piercing me relentlessly, _"but if saving Senri means that I don't get to live, then I will choose death. I've already come to terms with the situation, and if I can save my son, I will gladly give my life up."_

I glanced over and saw Sasuke trudging through the hallway, a backpack slung over a single shoulder. He was coming in my direction, and the dreaded arrow that had transformed my heart into a mutilated pile of pain dug itself out of me, only to impale through me again.

_"If it comes to that, please, tell Sasuke that I've cherished every moment we've spent together."_


	35. Chapter 35

_Chapter Thirty-Five_

Sakura's emerald eyes flickered up to Sasuke and me as we entered her hospital room quietly, so as not to disturb her. Originally, it looked as if she had been asleep. Possibly, she would sleep during the day, and had trained her body to wake up around the time that her knight in shining armor would gallantly come to her side. There was a silent, half-hearted smile that crinkled up the sides of Sakura's lips, and Sasuke returned the gesture.

"Hey," he murmured to her, dropping his book bag to the floor and abandoning it without a care. The tone of his voice was so quiet, so calm and comforting to his pregnant girlfriend. He fell to his knees at her bedside and planted a soft kiss upon her lips. I almost felt the need to look away and let them have their private moment. I could tell that he kept his distance from the bulge on her belly, not wanting to disturb the baby, and the rate at which the placenta continued to tear.

"How was school?" Sakura asked weakly, her voice cracking in refusal to her speaking. Her skin was still light and paper-thin, as it had been yesterday. A part of me was hoping that I would see some improvement from the day before, however the other part was aware that the likeliness of such was slim. The logical part of me told me this; it knew that the odds of her getting better before Senri's birth was highly unlikely, despite the fact that I prayed desperately for her health and for Senri's.

"It was school," Sasuke replied to her, stroking the tops of her bony hands. Before Sakura had become pregnant, I had never really seen them act like a real couple - besides the sex, I mean. Ever since they had accepted the fact that they had created life, they had been closer than ever, and nothing ever came between them. "The seniors are ready to get out, of course."

Sakura's eyes latched onto Sasuke's, and she watched him with a soft gaze. "Have you started writing your speech for graduation?" she asked.

"Hinata's going to help me do that," he told her, bringing her knuckles to his mouth so he could kiss them lightly.

"That's nice of her." Sakura's tired eyes flickered to me, and a small and grateful smile crept up her cheeks. I exchanged the beam, but I wasn't sure if I could keep the pain out of my expression. Seeing her like this caused feelings of melancholy to wash over me, drowning me in their terrible sorrows. Seeing her in this state, the logical portion of my mind switched to realism, and I couldn't stop the thoughts of the worst from filling my mind.

_"I've cherished every moment we've spent together."_ Sakura's voice from last night - or, rather, early this morning - trickled into my thoughts, and I grew dizzy. Nonchalantly, I slumped down into a chair to keep my head from spinning. This feeling of vertigo was insane, and I knew exactly the cause: the idea that Sakura understood what was happening to her; the fact that she was willing to die. She had chosen me to relay the message to her lover, if she did not make it out of this alive. I didn't know how I would tell him; he would be so sad. Crushed. The pain would smother him relentlessly. While I would be there for Sasuke, I wondered if I had the strength to keep from locking myself in solitude, as I had when my parents were killed. There was so much uncertainty with this, and it was killing me. I wanted Sakura and Senri to live, but logic and science was against them.

"I'm surprised Naruto isn't here with you," she commented, her lashes fluttering for a moment. I swear that her eyes almost rolled back in her head, and my heart had stopped in an instant. In that split second, I thought we had lost her...

I refused to allow my pain to show to Sakura, especially since she was the one suffering the most. Rather, I sucked in a deep breath and held it in my lungs for a few seconds before permitting it to escape through my mouth. This cleared my head, and I blinked twice, my eyes on her as she awaited my answer.

"He didn't want to disturb you," I told her, realizing that he didn't really give a reason why he had not come with me. I think, maybe, he didn't want to see Sakura in such a distressed state. Despite the fact that Naruto and I have been a couple for over six months, I still believe that, unconsciously, he still had feelings for Sakura. Seeing her like this could have made those hidden emotions re-emerge, and the fact that, like all of us, he couldn't do anything to help her killed him. She was dying, pregnant with his best friend's son. That had to take a toll on the psyche.

"Is he okay?" she asked in a murmur, and my eyebrows furrowed in perplex. "He's still treating you right, right?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"It's okay, Sakura," Sasuke butted in, and both my eyes and the emeralds of his lover flickered in his direction. "Naruto is jealous as hell when other men look at Hinata." I blushed, and Sasuke and Sakura chuckled together, their fingers dancing as they began to interlock. "Apparently, he even tenses up when my brother talks to her."

"But you have to admit," Sakura said before inhaling deeply, a single hand touching her belly. Both Sasuke and I jumped into defensive mode, panicking that something may be happening. Could the placenta have detached even more, if not completely?

"Sakura? What's wrong?" Sasuke's voice cracked in fear. He cradled the back of her head and let her squeeze his hand. Sakura's eyes squeezed shut in excruciation, and she let out a slow breath, blowing out the pain. Her body relaxed just as quickly as it had tensed up, and she allowed her head to fall back on the pillow. Sasuke's hand was sandwiched between her pink tresses and the hospital pillow.

"Senri's moving around a lot," she told us with her eyes remaining closed. Her eyebrows relaxed, and she let another breath escape her lips. "He keeps kicking me around the tear of the placenta."

"Senri," Sasuke said, his lips almost brushing Sakura's bulging stomach. "Don't hurt mommy. She's working so hard for you, silly boy."

I couldn't help but snicker under my breath; I had never seen Sasuke so...I don't even know the word for it. Paternal? He was going to make a terrific father. It almost warmed my heart to see them continuing to act as a family. They continued to keep their head up, and they stayed strong for the sake of one another. Sakura, I knew, wasn't ever going to give up; she wouldn't have the will to accept her son as dead. Sasuke, however, was like me; he knew that things didn't look too well for them, but he wanted them to turn out okay. He was praying for a miracle.

"Senri," Sakura murmured and stroked her tummy with the tips of her fingers. "I love you, Senri. So much."

Sasuke mimicked her movements, finally coming in contact with the mass that contained his child. "Daddy loves you too, Senri." He leaned forward and kissed Sakura's baby bulge. Sakura turned her eyes to me; I was still slouched in the chair at the far end of the room, and her attention caused me to break my thoughts of adoration.

"Do you want to feel?" she asked me, and I smiled at her, standing up and moving to Sasuke's left side; he moved over, making room for me. I was hesitant to touch her, afraid that she would break at the very thought of pressure, and I certainly didn't want to disrupt anything with the placenta. My left hand drifted slowly through the air, almost shaking in fear. My fingertips brushed her stomach, and she guided my hand over to a minute little bulge right off of top of her naval. I gasped, knowing exactly what I was feeling; Senri.

This moment was so beautiful, I could have wept bittersweet tears. I could feel Senri moving around inside of his mother - inside of my best friend. The son of Sakura and Sasuke...he was no longer something intangible. I could feel him.

"Hi, Senri," I said in a soft voice, as if not to disturb a sleeping child. Sakura placed her hand over mine and smiled.

"Do you hear that, Senri?" she asked her baby in such a sweet tone. "That's Aunt Hinata."

Aunt? But I wasn't her sister, by any means. Why was she giving baby Senri false information about me before he was born? Or could she mean that we're going to be friends forever, and that we're equivalent to sisters? This touched me so deeply; I had never met my sister.

I was shocked at myself; I hadn't had thoughts of Hanabi for so long, it was almost as if my mind had completely blocked her out. However, her situation related to the one that Sakura and Sasuke were in now.

Whenever I was four, my mother was pregnant with my baby sister. The moment she and my father found out that she was a girl, they named her Hanabi. They were so happy, and I was excited that I was going to be a big sister. Everything in my mother's pregnancy had gone well, as far as I knew, because she never went to the hospital, except for checkups and ultrasounds. Of course, during these check-ups, my parents dropped me off at my aunt and uncle's house, where I played with Neji.

Throughout her whole pregnancy, I continued to ask my mom when my baby sister was going to get here. I couldn't wait! I remember being too excited to sleep sometimes, and my mom would come and sing to me until I dozed off into unconsciousness.

I remember, when I had turned five and my parents had a birthday party for me, I had made a wish upon blowing out the five candles on my birthday cake. I wished for my baby sister to come, and when Neji asked me what I wished for, I told him. Orochimaru, who at the time was my neighbor, told me that I wasn't supposed to tell people what I wished for, or else it wouldn't come true.

Finally, the day had come when baby Hanabi was going to be born, and my dad dropped me off at Neji's house before taking my mom to the hospital. Hanabi was all it could talk about; I was so enthralled! So many hours passed by, and I continued to pester my family. I followed my aunt around the house, and she had me help her do simple chores while I talked. I helped her fold the laundry, or rather, I pulled the clothes out of the dryer and held them up to her so she could fold them.

My Uncle Hizashi had come downstairs into the laundry room to take the folded clothes and put them away in their respectable places, and he left with only a snicker at me and my unusual chattiness. Aunt Natsumi began walking out of the laundry room after the clothes were folded, and I followed close behind in her footsteps.

On the way to the stairs, I had run into Neji, who was carrying a stuffed dinosaur in his arms. I wondered if Hanabi would like dinosaurs. From out in the kitchen, I heard the phone cry out loudly, and both Neji and I stopped to look at it as if it were a shrieking monster. Uncle Hizashi gradually descended down the stairs and made a beeline for the phone, tearing it off of its bed almost brutally.

"_Hello?" _he had said, and then I remember distinctly how his face had fallen completely, and a sharp look of pain settled into his eyes. I glanced over at Neji, who just stared at his father. _"Yes, I'll be there as soon as I can."_

And then he left. He didn't say anything to me or to Neji, didn't even yell up the stairs to Aunt Natsumi to tell her that he was leaving the house. At the time, I was innocent and I really didn't think much of it. Neji and I returned to playing with the toys that he had scattered throughout the house. Playing with my cousin was the only thing that seemed to make the time pass faster, and before I knew it, it was pitch black outside.

Aunt Natsumi made Neji and me dinner; grilled cheese sandwiches with little carrot sticks on the side and a little cup of homemade mint tea. Neji and I sat at the little table in their dining room, eating with such a childlike curiosity to the food. Did they grow carrots in these little stick-like shapes? Why did grilled cheese taste so good and gooey? I kicked my feet back and forth as I nibbled on the sandwich made with love from my aunt.

I glanced up at Aunt Natsumi to see her gazing out the front window with a concerned countenance painted on her face. Her attention was caught by the lights of a car approaching the house, and I followed her gaze to see my uncle's car pulling up to the driveway. I had wondered where he went, and I watched as he got out of his little car and slam the door shut. Aunt Natsumi jumped up out of her seat and met her husband at the front door.

When he came in, he looked distraught; his hair was a mess, and his eyes had a strange tiredness to them. It was strange, because he looked okay before he left when it was light outside. He and my aunt shared a moment of mourning eyes, and then he turned to me.

"_Hinata, sweetie,"_ he said, moving an extra chair from the dining room table in front of me, and he sat down, looking me straight in the eye. _"Hanabi is an angel now."_

I may have been only five years old, but I knew what that meant. For some reason or another, Hanabi had not had a chance at life, and she was not coming home with my parents.

I remember that I wept hysterically, apologizing to my family. It was all my fault. Had I not told Neji my wish for Hanabi to come into the world, this wouldn't have been happening. If you tell somebody what you wished for, it won't come true. My wish had been spoken, and now it was not going to come true.

I was so guilty.

I held back the tears as my mind came back to the present, where I was caressing Sakura's tummy, feeling baby Senri move around inside of her.

"Yes, Senri," I murmured. "Aunt Hinata loves you."

Sasuke and I waited until Sakura drifted off to sleep before we started working on his speech. We both knew it, but neither one of us had the guts to say it: our time with Sakura may be limited. We didn't want to spend it writing a speech.

Sasuke yanked his laptop out of his backpack and jabbed his finger on the power button, causing it to glow brightly. Soon after, the screen began waking up, and its glow reverse-faded, the backlight coming on gradually brighter. I sat close to his side, so that both of us could see the screen of the laptop. Normally, I probably would have felt uncomfortable being so close to him. However, Sasuke and I had grown so close over the past two weeks, and I felt as though both of us were comfortable together now. I never would have imagined Sasuke and me being anything along the lines of close. Had somebody told me last year that Sasuke Uchiha and I were going to become like brother and sister, I would have thought them to be a liar.

_Oh wow..._ I blushed. _I sound like Naruto..._

"What are we even supposed to talk about?" Sasuke asked me, completely clueless. It wasn't like I had any more knowledge on the subject than he did; I had never graduated before, and I don't remember exactly what Neji said in his valedictorian speech when he graduated last year. All I knew is that it was sort of inspiring. Then again, while Neji never really spoke all that much, he was good with words.

"Maybe some high school memories and the transition from high school into the real world?" I suggested, questioning my own ideas. Would we be able to write an entire speech on that? I mean, if I had made valedictorian, I could talk about all the great memories in high school, but they would only involve a select few people out of our entire class. "Or maybe life lessons that you've learned by attending high school?"

Sasuke's eyes flickered to his pregnant girlfriend who was lightly snoring on the hospital bed, snuggled deep within the thin sheet. My gaze flickered to the floor, realizing that he had experienced the most grave life lesson this past year; he learned the consequence of his amorous sexual activities with his girlfriend, and how quickly things can turn from perfectly fine to grave.

"It's my fault that Sakura doesn't get to go to graduation," he confessed to me, and I allowed my eyes to creep back up to his face. He was filled with guilt, I could tell, and I didn't know what to do. It wasn't entirely his fault; Sakura had as much sex with him as he did with her. They were both equally responsible for Senri. However, with the situation at hand, nobody was at fault for. This was a freak incident, and no matter how guilty Sasuke felt, it wasn't his fault. It wasn't his fault, it wasn't Sakura's fault, and it wasn't Senri's fault. However unfortunate the outcome may be, it will never be anybody's fault.

"It's not your fault, Sasuke," I persuaded him, reaching my left hand over my body and touching his arm. His eyes bore down on my hand and traveled up my arm to my shoulder, slithered up the side of my neck until they reached my face. "I need you to get this through your head, now, Sasuke: none of this is your fault."

"Give me one reason why its not?" His eyebrows pulled together, and I noticed that he was avoiding eye contact. "If it wasn't for me, Sakura wouldn't have gotten pregnant, and she wouldn't be in this mess."

"Sasuke, nobody could have predicted that this was going to happen," I said to him, hoping that I could get through to him. "You and Sakura, you guys never thought in a million years that something like this could happen to you. Nobody ever thinks that something like this could happen to them. It's just not in human nature to think of these terrible possibilities. I mean, hell -" yes, I was definitely starting to sound like my blonde boyfriend, "-this is such a rare occurrence. I don't even think Shikamaru could have anticipated this. It's so rare."

"It still wouldn't have happened, had we not had sex." Sasuke stared at his computer screen. "It's not just the fact that she can't go to graduation. She can't go to college, she won't be able to work for a while. She's going to be taking care of Senri, if he makes it out of this mess.

"Senri...my son wouldn't have to have his life jeopardized every moment if it wasn't for me."

"While it is true that Senri's life is in danger constantly right now, it's also true that you wouldn't have known how much you love Sakura if it wasn't for him," I told him. "Ever since the two of you accepted the fact that you were having a baby, you've grown so close to one another. You cherish one another, and as one, you love your son. Don't you see? Senri made you and Sakura more than just high school boyfriend and girlfriend. He made you a family."

Sasuke's eyes flickered back to Sakura, and I couldn't tell exactly, but it looked as if his eyes were burning on her bulge. He stared at the beauty that was his son, in danger or not, Senri was still Sasuke's son. He was a gift from the heavens, and, as I had said, the single being that formed Sakura and Sasuke into a family.

"Let's just write this paper, okay?" he said, and his attention returned to his computer screen as he opened up a word processor. I glanced down at his fingers, which struck the keys almost aimlessly, and my mind's thoughts returned to my past.

I remembered all too well the pain of losing someone that I had never officially met before, and I never wanted it to happen again. Senri couldn't become an angel. Not yet, and not for a long while. He had to live, and Sakura had to continue living with her new family.

There was no other option that I would accept.


	36. Chapter 36

_Chapter Thirty-Six_

I reached behind my back and yanked up the zipper on my black, thigh-length sundress, turning my eyes to the floor as I concentrated all of my sense on the tactile. My vision caught sight of my graduation gown that was hanging up on my closet door. Today was the day that I get to wear it, along with the rest of my class. The moment we throw our caps up into the air, we will no longer be high school students. We will be adults, living in the real world and experiencing real problems.

I still didn't know what I was going to do after high school. I hoped that the bookstore would hire me full-time, and maybe Naruto would do the same. However, if he wanted to go to college, there would be no way that I would stop him. He had the right to achieve his dream, or at least attempt to. I had no doubt that he could do anything he put his mind to.

I allowed my arms to fall back at my side, and my cast brushed against my dress. It was pretty unfortunate that I had to wear a cast for my graduation day, however it could be worse. I could be in Sakura's situation. She would be in my mind the entire time, I knew, because a lot of Sasuke's speech was on mistakes. Underlying those words was the idea that he had make a huge mistake, and it was now risking the lives of two beings that he loved.

I sighed, slipping on the same Mary Janes that I had worn to prom. This was it...

I grabbed the top of the hanger that held my gown, and I tore it down off of my closet door, bending down to grab my cap as it plummeted to the floor. Taking a deep breath, I took a quick glance in the mirror and flipped my hair over my shoulder, despite the fact that it would fall back to the front soon enough. I made my way to my closed bedroom door and unlocked it before opening it to reveal the hallway. My shoes clicked on the hardwood floor with every step that I took, so people knew I was coming.

When I made it to the main room - the couch and television to my right, the kitchen to my left - all eyes were upon me.

Neji was dressed in a nice white suit for the occasion. The black undershirt was open from the top three buttons, exposing his clavicles. A necklace that I remember very clearly hung around his neck, the short chain stopping just before the two ends of the black shirt met at the fourth button. The dogtag was Neji's father's - my uncle Hizashi's - necklace. I remember, he wore it every day. I wondered if Uncle Hizashi gave Neji the necklace, or if Neji inherited it when he passed away. On the dogtag, the Hyuga name was inscribed in a fancy cursive script, and on the back was the family crest of a curling cloud. His hair was loose, flowing freely down his back. I was almost jealous of his long and luscious locks.

Tenten, much to no surprise, was not wearing a dress. Instead, she wore dress pants and a fancy tank top that tied behind her neck. Her hair was down, which was a plus, and I never really realized how long her own tresses were. Of course, they didn't surpass mine or Neji's but the strands were longer than I could have expected; pin straight, they reached down to her shoulders in a straight-across cut. Her fringe, of course, was the shortest part of her hair.

Minato sat at the island in a dark blue blazer that was completely open in the front, exposing a pure white button down shirt. His, like Neji's, was unbuttoned at the top, giving his body room to breathe in the late spring air. The pants that hung from his slim waist were of the same shade of navy, and they covered the tops of his shiny black dress shoes. His spiky, blonde hair was styled no differently than normal.

Kushina looked pulchritudinous. Her hair was curled into perfect little coils that fell around her face beautifully, her bangs clipped back by a blue barrette. I could have stolen her dress; form fitting, it was a teal color, further towards the blue side, with minute black polka dots peppering the material. The sweetheart shape of the top really accented her breasts - but not to the point where it was overwhelming. She was definitely going to be the trophy wife in the graduation audience.

Naruto wore the same black suit that he wore to prom, but he had a different tie. This one, instead of being royal purple to match the dress of his prom date, was orange, and it stuck out against its solid black base. His hair, like his father's, was pointing everywhere, just like any other day. To be honest, I wouldn't want it any other way. He was beautiful to me.

"Hey." Naruto grinned as he approached me, placing one hand on my hip and leaning forward to peck a kiss on my lips. I blushed, because I knew that everyone in the room had just seen that. I half-expected Neji to say something, but he remained silent. My eyes locked with Naruto's sapphire irises, falling victim to his unintended charm. A smile formed on my face as I ran my hands down the chest of his suit.

"You clean up nice, Naruto," I complimented him, and he bit his lip, looking away shyly. He was stealing my role; I was supposed to be the reserved person in this relationship. My fingers wrapped around his tie, toying with it like a kitten and a ball of yarn. "You should wear a suit more often."

"I'd rather not." He returned his gaze to my face, and we looked at one another with such admiration. "Unless, of course, we're going on some sort of date. Then, of course, I'll look my best."

I laughed a little bit, but my attention was soon after caught by the scraping of one of the stools on the hard floor by the island. Minato had stood up, and he fished his keys out of his pants' pocket.

"You two ready to graduate?" he asked us, holding the key to his SUV between the tips of his index finger and thumb. Naruto and I nodded in unison, completely ready to get out of high school. These past few months seemed to drag on and on perpetually, and this day couldn't have arrived quickly enough.

"Yes, we probably should get going," Neji said, fetching his keys off of the rack in the kitchen. Tenten and Kushina both retrieved their handbags, Kushina's being much more feminine. Tenten's almost reminded me of a leather business bag.

Naruto interlaced his fingers with mine, tying our hands together as my family and his began exiting the apartment and filing into the hallway. Normally, Naruto and I would have waited at the base of the steps for Tenten, who turned around to lock the door, but instead, the two of us broke from the pack and began stepping down every stair. On top of his left arm, Naruto held both of our caps and gowns, hanging them high enough to where they wouldn't drag on the ground. We had descended half a flight of stairs before the others began making their way down behind us.

"What are you going to do after graduation?" I asked Naruto, and he turned beautiful eyes to me and smiled a bit.

"I'll probably pick up more hours at the bookstore," he said, knowing that the same was my plan. "I've been saving up most of my money so I could buy a place of my own." He winked at me. "Maybe you could come live with me."

I giggled at him lightly. "Maybe I will." That would be nice. Naruto and I would finally get to fall asleep in one another's arms again, like we used to before Tenten took Neji and me in. We would share the same bed, snuggle in the same sheets, kiss one another with such a heated passion that our bodies would act with a mind of their own. I blushed as my thoughts began racing uncontrollably. "I'd like that," I said.

"Me too." Naruto squeezed my hand. "Then, life would be perfect."

"How so?" I turned my gray eyes to his profile, watching as a shy smile snaked up the sides of his cheeks.

"I'd have everything I'd ever want."

OoO

Naruto and I met up with the rest of our friends in the gymnasium, and everybody was hugging me. Naruto shook hands with all of our guy friends, or received what guys called a "bro hug." I didn't know how it was different from a regular hug, but I didn't ask. I let them have their little codenames.

Ino and Sai came up to Naruto and me, and she embraced me tightly, giddy, due to the event of the day.

"Can you believe we're graduating?" she asked me with an ear-to-ear grin on her face. Her hair was tied back, like always, high on top of her head. I didn't know how she planned to fit her graduation cap over it, but if she could, more power to her.

"Absolutely not." I shook my head and exchanged a nod with Sai. Shikamaru and Choji approached us, nonchalant as always, and Kiba followed them. He, of course, was energetic, but he made no snide comments that would anger Naruto. He still hugged me, though, which I knew wasn't a very good gesture for Naruto's temper. The bandages that had coated the bridge of his nose were no longer there, and there wasn't a lot of bruising.

"What happened to your broken nose?" Ino asked him.

"Oh, it's still there," Kiba grunted. "But you wouldn't believe how much makeup my sister had to apply to my face to help fade out the bruising." He leaned on me, using my shoulder as a stand for his elbow. "Never, ever mess with Hinata. She'll break your face."

"Okay, guys!" Coach Tsunade shouted at the graduating seniors, who all turned and faced her. She was wearing a gown that was identical to ours, and her long blonde locks hung loose around the sides of her face. "We're going to start lining you guys up in alphabetical order!"

This was the moment where they were going to split Naruto and me up, and we thought we had more time than we did; Tsunade was moving quickly, placing people in order by the first few letters of their last name. She got to me quickly, and placed me behind a boy that I didn't know. I had seen him in the hallway a few times, but I didn't know he was a part of my class. Behind me was Kiba, which I was thankful for; I didn't want to be completely surrounded by people I didn't know.

"Hey, where's Sasuke?" he asked me, and my eyes widened. I hadn't seen him yet since we got here, and immediately my eyes began scanning the room, searching all of the faces. He wouldn't really skip graduation, would he? I mean, we spent all that time writing his speech and making it perfect. I know he was having a situation, but he wouldn't skip out of his obligations, would he? If he didn't show up, then Shikamaru would have to give the speech, and I knew that the first words out of his mouth would tell everybody what a drag this was.

My eyes caught sight of my charcoal-haired friend, who had just stepped into the gymnasium with his cap atop his head and his gown streaming down his deltoids. I didn't realize it immediately, but a deep breath that I had been holding inside my lungs was suddenly released in a long sigh. His being here meant that Sakura and Senri were still okay.

The line in front of me started marching forward, startling me at first, and I ended up stumbling my first few steps.

"Don't trip, Hinata," Kiba muttered from behind me. "I might not be able to catch you if you do." I blushed, clearly embarrassed by my lack of footwork back there. But I had to shake it off and keep going. I pressed my shoulders backwards and held my chin high, just like I've seen Sakura do whenever she would walk through the hallways of the school, looking rather confident in herself. I had to do the same. I wanted to make Sakura proud of me.

Our line of students marched down the vacant hallways of Konoha High, almost like an army of seniors. We kept in our order, and nobody really said much of anything. I think we were all too nervous and too excited to really think of saying anything. At least, that's how I felt. I couldn't really speak for the rest of my classmates.

When we stepped outside on the front lawn of the school campus, the beating sunlight blinded me momentarily, and I squinted to protect my eyes. I almost stopped dead in my tracks when I saw the crowd of people that had gathered here for our graduation ceremony. I could feel what little confidence I had suck back into the core of my body, where it would never shine out. Now, I didn't care about looking confident; I just wanted to make it through without blushing or stumbling.

Everybody was turned around, searching our line for their friend or family member with proud eyes and a camera ready. I spotted Naruto's and my party, and Kushina was clicking away on a digital camera. I couldn't help but to smile at her when she put the lense in my direction.

When we were all seated in our respectable seats, Mr. Hatake stepped up to the podium and repositioned the microphone, adjusting to the height of his mouth.

"Good evening, friends, family, staff, and graduates," he began proudly. "We are all here because we want to embark on this great step in life together. Today, the students you see before you will be completing the final steps to their high school education. I know they all can't wait for me to stop talking so they can get out of here." There was a chuckle from the crowd as Mr. Hatake cracked a little joke. "With that in mind, I will only speak briefly.

"These students have been a great chapter of Konoha High's novel, and, as their educator, I can only hope that they take everything that they have learned in the past four years and run with it. They should not do what they think will please those around them; rather, they should strive to achieve the things that will make their own hearts happy. Most of all, as a teacher, we want to see our pupils' dreams come true.

"As I promised, I only had a few words," Mr. Hatake finished rather quickly, much to my surprise. "I'd like to turn the microphone over to our valedictorian: Sasuke Uchiha."

I sighed as I heard a chair behind me groan the moment it was relieved of Sasuke's weight. His footsteps clicked on the risers, and the sound migrated east from me. My eyes flickered over to my friend, who stood at the podium, repositioning the microphone.

"Family, friends, teachers," he started, and I took in a deep breath as he began unraveling the speech that we wrote together. "Today is the day that we leave our comfort zone. No longer will we have to wake up at six in the morning in order to be on time for school. We have no alarm clock now. It seems like a blessing, however we'll quickly find that things aren't going to be the way they used to.

"As high school narrowed down to its final days, I often heard the phrase 'oh, there's no way I'll lose touch with this friend, or that friend.' However, we'll sleep through that promise, because there is no clock to wake us up. Sadly enough, friendships will pass, but that is a part of life. We'll make friends, and we'll lose friends, and then we'll make new friends. It almost seems like an endless cycle. Sometimes, we often have to wonder, what mistakes do we keep making to have to lose our friends over and over?

"Mistakes are a part of life. We're all human, so there is guarantee that we will continue again and again to make mistakes. Some have far greater consequences than others, and each will have their own unique lesson. When we throw our caps in the air and become members of society, we'll have to take responsibility for these mistakes. There is no way arou-"

Sasuke stopped speaking, and my eyebrows pulled together as I watched him reach into his graduation gown and retrieve his cell phone. His eyes glanced at the screen and held it for a moment that felt like many minutes. With a dropping expression, he turned his attention back to the crowd before him, and then to our graduating class.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, turning away from the microphone. "I have to go." And with those words, he removed himself from the podium and began walking briskly to the parking lot. His pace increased tenfold and he broke out in a full sprint to his car, leaving the rest of us sitting here and staring after him.

My heart stopped, and I turned around in my seat and glanced at Naruto, whose eyes met mine. We were both thinking the exact same thing, I knew. In unison, Naruto and I stood up and began exiting the risers, jumping down and landing the grass. I slipped off my heels and held them in my left hand, while Naruto held my casted right hand in his, our fingers entwining as much as they could. The two of us took off running in the direction of the hospital, knowing full well that something was happening with Sakura.

_Please,_ I begged. _Let them live. _

As if we were running for our own lives, Naruto and I raced through the grass and jumping out into the middle of the street dodging what little traffic there was. The asphalt was rough against the bottoms of my fragile feet, but I didn't care; all I could think about was Sakura and Senri.

I never knew that my feet could move so fast; it was almost as if I was gliding through the air, being pulled along by my dear love. Both of us were breathing heavy in anxiety, our concern for the health of our friend and her son.

I wanted them to make it; I prayed that they would.

Neji and Tenten slowed down in Neji's old little car. The two of them had abandoned the graduation ceremony, too. It was probably less frowned upon, since they were not a part of it.

"Get in!" Tenten told us, and I tugged Naruto's arm in the direction of the car. Both of us jumped in, and Neji was speeding off before we had even slammed the back door shut. Naruto and I didn't bother putting our seatbelts on; instead, we locked our arms around one another, fear creeping into our bodies and minds. While I knew we were both hoping for the best, but I was also aware that we knew how badly Senri's odds were.

I tucked my head under Naruto's chin and curled my legs up under my own body, sitting on my calves. Naruto's arms constricted so tightly around me, it was as if he was trying to hold both of us together so that we wouldn't break.

Neji sped like a demon through the streets, so we made it to the hospital in no time. I had slipped on my shoes in the car as we pulled into the parking lot, and Neji allowed Naruto and me to get out before he found a parking space. We both had shrugged out of our graduation caps and gowns before exiting the vehicle.

The two of us, in each other's hands, rushed into the hospital doors and made our way to the maternity ward with extreme haste. My hair fluttered behind me as we moved along quickly. Through the halls we sprinted, weaving around every corner very ungracefully, but never once did we let our fingers slip apart.

When we reached the main lobby of the maternity ward, we came face-to-face with Sakura's parents, who stared at us with sorrowful eyes. Immediately, Naruto and I stopped dead in our tracks, huffing and puffing. My eyes began to tear up as I jumped to conclusions, based on the masks that Misaki and Aoi wore.

"Mrs. Haruno..." I listened to my voice crack as I stepped forward, coming closer to my best friend's mother.

"Senri started struggling," Misaki told me, and I could feel the tears rolling down my cheeks as I listened to her voice of woe. "They had to induce labor on Sakura immediately, in order to save Senri. The doctors say the situation looks grave."

"It's not over yet," Naruto said boldly, squeezing my left hand in his. "Senri is still alive. He's going to live." I could tell that there was a massive amount of uncertainty in his voice, despite his strong words.

Sasuke's family ran into the lobby, followed by Naruto's parents and Neji and Tenten. Misaki explained to them what she had just told Naruto and me, but we didn't listen the second time. Instead, we stood there, smothered in one another's embrace. I rested my head on his chest, and I couldn't help myself from crying the excruciating tears that came with the butchering of my heart.

One of the lights above us began flickering, and my attention was caught by it. That light turned off and on so fast, it was almost like a strobe light. My eyebrows furrowed as I continued to watch it.

"Guys," I said aloud, and everybody turned to look at me. I removed my ear from Naruto's firm and muscular chest, and I took a few steps in the direction of the four families that crowded the ward's lobby. My body was trembling as I held Naruto's hand tightly, leading him over to the small mass of people. With my casted and broken hand, I grasped the hand of Itachi, who looked down at me curiously. "We need to stand together. We all need to combine our undying wish for the safety of Senri and Sakura. Let's...create a circle of unity."

The four families exchanged glances with one another before interlocking fingers and joining the circle that I had started. Itachi held his father's hand, who held held his wife's hand, who grasped the hand of Sakura's mother, who clung to the hand of her husband, who laced fingers with Kushina, who embraced the hand of Minato, who held Tenten's hand, who locked fingers with Neji; Neji, who completed the circle by joining hands with Naruto. We were no longer four separate families with the same wish; we were a single entity, hoping and praying together for the safety of our dear Sakura and her son.

I dropped my head as I wept silently, knowing that this was the moment of truth. Sakura had been in the hospital for three weeks, suffering as she attempted to salvage her unborn son's life. All of us had had her in our thoughts the entire time. For some of us, she consumed our minds, and she was all we could think about. Her safety, her well-being. We all wanted it more than anything.

So many hours passed by, and our circle had broken up physically - mentally, we were all still together - and we had taken our seats in the waiting room. The light above our heads continued to flicker, making an obnoxious buzzing noise.

As we had done in the car coming over to the hospital, Naruto and I held each other together, embracing one another so tightly. Every so often, a wave of pain and sorrow washed over me, causing me to cry bitter tears. Like Naruto had said: it wasn't over. However, the logical side of my brain begged to differ. It continued to fill my mind with thoughts of a realist, using the information I knew to turn the current situation for the worst. My body quivered under Naruto's touch, and he constricted himself tighter and tighter around me. In all honesty, we held each other tightly enough to the point where I felt we could break one another in half. But the pain of physical contact felt good. It made me remember that I was not alone. That feeling, surely, had to be transferred to Sasuke and Sakura. They had so many wonderful people out here waiting for them.

I took in a sharp breath as the excruciation in my heart continued to rip through my core. I feared that the outcome of this night would not be the one we wanted it to be. My gut twisted as I thought of what would happen to Sasuke and Sakura, if Senri didn't make it. They would spend many nights remembering their child, and with that, they would always recall the anguish that came with his final weeks.

The room around me was silent; nobody breathed a word. Instead, we all waited in complete and utter silence, our patience wearing thin. I didn't know how much longer I could take of this. Between the mental agony of the war between the emotional side of my brain and the logical side, and adding the buzzing coming from the broken light above us, I was drained.

_Please... _I groveled at the foot of anybody who cared. _Please, please, please, I beg of you, please. Let them live. _

I could feel the air come out of Naruto's nostrils as he exhaled a deep sigh, clearly experiencing the same stress that I was. In an attempt to comfort both him and myself, I pressed my forehead to his cheek, my eyelashes fluttering shut as I mimicked his deep breath.

Every second that ticked by felt like an eternity that we were drowning in. It was as if we were trapped within a parallel universe, where time was distorted drastically. Seconds felt like minutes, minutes seemed like hours, and hours acted like days.

No matter how much time passed, Naruto and I never once let go of one another. We were in this together, for better or for worse. We, as one entity, were here for our friends, because they needed us. I was well aware that we would never leave, so long as we were needed.

Sasuke...if things didn't turn out in his favor, then he was going to need so much tender love to help mend his broken heart. I was willing to give him everything I had, and I was almost positive that Naruto was with me on this. He had to be. We were one.

"_Please," _Sakura's voice rang inside my head again, and I knew what she was going to say. I didn't want to hear her say it, because I didn't know how in the world I was going to be able to relay the message to Sasuke. _"Tell Sasuke that I've cherished every moment we've spent together."_

I clung to Naruto's body even tighter, and, despite the pressure at which my eyelids exerted on each other, the warm and salty tears still managed to slip through the barrier and glide down my cheeks. I sniffed once, constricting my fingers on Naruto's suit jacket.

_Don't give up, Sakura!_ I screamed inside my head, wondering if, just maybe, she would hear the pleas coming from the bottom of my heart. _Please, don't make me have to tell Sasuke that!_

Naruto's hand moved to the nape of my neck, and he brushed away my tears with the pad of his thumb.

_Please..._

There were footsteps coming from the hallway that led to many rooms, one of which was Sakura's room. All at once, every head in the room snapped in the direction of the clicking heels, and we listened as the sound came closer. For some reason, those footsteps still couldn't drown out the sound of the flickering light that hung over my head. The feet continued to move towards us, however we still did not see their owner. It took many moments before a woman with her hair tied back in a bun appeared in the lobby.

As if all of our bodies were connected and we really were one, all eleven of us sprang up out of our seats and gave the nurse our full and undivided attention. She did not carry a clipboard with her, as I had seen them typically do. Rather, her hands were empty, and she carried nothing with her.

I couldn't tell if that was a good sign or a bad omen, and so my emotions flooded my brain, taking over completely. I hushed them, having to use all of my energy to do so.

The nurse opened her mouth to speak to us, and we all waited in anticipation for the news. It was too nerve-wracking. A part of me didn't want to know.

_Please..._

Naruto and I grasped one another's hands in both hope and in despair. _This_ was the moment of truth. Every second, we came closer to knowing.

_Please..._

"Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuga," she called out our names, and the blood immediately stopped flowing through my veins. My entire body trembled as I tried so desperately to keep the tears behind my eyes.

_Please..._

The flickering light above our heads finally died.

"Sasuke Uchiha is asking for you."


	37. Chapter 37

_Chapter Thirty-Seven_

This couldn't be happening. No, I refused to believe it. The nurse had said nothing else before she started leading us down the hallway, and Naruto and I stalked her closely, attempting not to push her to move faster. Our hands were clamped together, never able to leave one another. His hand was my only comfort at this moment of sorrow and tragedy.

If Sasuke was asking for us, something had happened. I feared that it was Sakura, because the nurse said that it was just Sasuke who was asking for us, not Sasuke _and_ Sakura. What if neither Sakura nor Senri had made it? My heart plummeted into my stomach and a large, solid lump filled in the center of my throat. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't stop the tears from coming.

_You weren't supposed to die!_ I cried, and I heard sniffing that was not my own. My eyes snaked to my left side, and I saw the glimmering tears that washed down Naruto's cheeks. So it wasn't just me who was putting the pieces of this despicable puzzle together. He, too, could sense that something was gravely the matter.

I squeezed his hand with everything I had, and I could feel as both of our hands quivered in unison. We were in this together, no matter what. No matter what sort of grief struck our physical and emotional beings, we had to hang on to one another with whole hearts. We had to stitch our wounds together. If we couldn't, then there was no hope for us being able to heal Sasuke in his time of dying.

Sasuke...he was going to be so crushed. I didn't know how I was supposed to make it better, because I knew that nothing I could say or do would ever bring back the people he lost. His life would be forever changed, and he willl never go back to being the Sasuke that he was before Senri, and before Sakura. He was going to be changed, most likely for the worse.

The nurse could not seem to move fast enough in front of us, and I was growing very impatient. I needed to know the truth. I had to know what happened to my best friends and their unborn son.

Senri; I feared that he hadn't had a chance at life. The odds of him making it out of this mess alive were very slim, and I knew and understood that. Despite the fact that I prayed for his health and safety, I was aware, now, that the odds of saving him were slim at best. It seems as though he never got to meet his parents, never got to meet his grandparents, didn't get to meet his "Aunt" Hinata. He'll never learn how to tie his shoes, or study the alphabet. He'll never make his first friend, or graduate from elementary school. He will never meet and fall in love with a woman.

Senri will never get a chance to see the beautiful world that we live in...

The nurse that had been leading us through the hallway stopped in front of a closed door, and she turned around to face us. She could see every tear that we cried, and could most likely notice how snuggly our hands clung to one another. Our arms trembled as the muscles clenched tighter and tighter.

Her hand moved to the handle on the door, and she shoved it down. We heard a slight click as the door released itself from the wall that it was placed inside. Immediately, my heart stopped. My ears perceived the sounds of sniffing, which triggered my own tears.

Stakes impaled me through my unbeating heart and the pain ripped through my entire body as splinters of sting coursed through my veins. I couldn't take the affliction that invaded my core, and I almost felt the need to run in the other direction. I knew that if I had to relay Sakura's message to Sasuke, I would choke up. I knew that he would cry, and his tears would cause my own eyes to pour out the salty streams.

When the door was no longer blocking my field of vision, I saw Sasuke's back to me, and he was facing Sakura, who was on her hip. There were two separate sobs, which meant that Sakura was still alive. But they were crying; that had to mean that Senri had not made it out alive.

"Sasuke?" Naruto sniffed, letting him know that we were here for the both of them. At the call of his name, our raven-haired friend turned around to face us, and we saw the countenances of both of our dear friends. Their tears didn't match the overwhelming joy that was casted upon their faces, and when Sasuke moved out of the way, we saw exactly what had caused their agonizing contentment.

Laying next to Sakura on the hospital bed was a tiny little baby, swaddled up in a plush, blue blanket. He had a full head of charcoal hair that was matted around his little face. His cheeks were pudgy, but his body was so tiny. He was sound asleep in between his parents, who wept with thanks to the heavens for saving their baby. I could definitely see so much of Sasuke in him, but it looked as if he had Sakura's chin.

He was so beautiful...

"Naruto, Hinata," Sasuke said, standing up and wiping his eyes with the pad of his thumb, but the tears continued to come. "Meet Senri Uchiha." Naruto and I gasped at how angelic and innocent the little baby was. He had defied his fate of death, and he lays here now before us, in body, ready to live his life. "Do you want to hold him?" he asked, and both Naruto and I nodded, unable to form words with our lips. We were stunned at how our constant hoping and praying had payed off.

Sasuke bent down to retrieve his son, caressing him cautiously behind the head and under the backside. I could tell that he was very protective of his child, and he radiated paternal love for Senri. My arms were outstretched, and Sasuke moved so close to me, his chest almost touching mine. He placed Senri in my arms, and I supported his head with the crease of my right elbow. Though it hurt, I strained my fingers to elongate and cradle his backside, which was chunky with a diaper that was too big for him.

Senri, despite being a month premature, was big. Not as big as a typical newborn child, born at the expected date, but far bigger than I would have expected him to be. That was a good thing. I could only hope that all of his organs had finished developing.

His little forehead creased, and I knew that if his eyebrows had completely grown out, they would have furrowed. He had been disturbed from his mother's side, and he was well aware of that. His petite eyelashes fluttered, and, in fear that he was going to start crying, I rocked him back and forth gently.

I gasped in awe at how pulchritudinous he had turned out to be; as if there was any doubt. "Hi, Senri," I cooed at him lightly, trying desperately not to disrupt his dreams even more. I wanted him to remain calm, and simply continue sleeping in my arms. I couldn't help but to smile down at him, and Naruto came to stand in front of me, holding my left hip against his right. With his left hand, he gingerly stroked Senri's cheeks, captivated by the beautiful baby before him. I turned my eyes to Sasuke and Sakura quickly and smiled at them. "He's beautiful, guys," I said, and they grinned, still wiping away their tears. "You two did a great job."

"Let's just hope he doesn't grow up to be too much like his father," Naruto chuckled softly, taking a peek at his best friend's reaction.

"It's true," Sasuke admitted, shoving his hands in his dress pants' pockets and shrugging. "I don't want him to be like me." I watched as his gaze shifted to the life he had created. There was such a protective look in his eye, as if he would do anything for this child. He would stand in front of bullets, confront the biggest foes, charge straight into a burning building...all for this infant. It was a beautiful thing, actually; the bond between parent and child. Deep down, I wonder if Senri could understand the idea that Sasuke would never let anything hurt him.

Naruto and I held him close, our eyes falling gently upon Senri's sleeping face. There was a warmth radiating through our bodies; the warmth of success, the warmth of hope, the undying warmth of love that burned like tens of thousands of splendid suns. Despite the fact that this was not our child, I could sense that we cherished him so greatly, and we would be some of his extended family. It almost made me sad that I didn't have money like Sasuke did; I would spoil this kid to death. But, that doesn't mean I can't give him enough tender love and care to last him a lifetime.

I glanced up at Naruto, whose eyes flickered towards me the moment he felt my eyes upon him. We smiled sweetly at each other, and he leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine passionately. It was short, but his message was clear.

"I love you, so much, Hinata," he murmured at me, and touched his forehead to mine as we both allowed our eyes to fall onto the beautiful baby in my arms, who slept soundly, his little hands twitching at times. I wonder what he was dreaming about. Perhaps he was feeling the heat of his mother, hearing the sound of her sweet voice. There was no doubt that his father would be there, too, watching over mother and child.

"I'm so glad I could save him," Sakura murmured before allowing her eyelids to flutter shut, and I grew afraid for her health. Her struggle wasn't over yet; she had already lost a lot of blood over the past three weeks, and I'm sure sacrificed plenty more today during the birth of her child.

"Sakura?" I said, my voice cracking and trembling, and I knew that the two boys in the room could hear my fear; they both turned around to face her.

"It's okay," she reassured me, her eyes never coming open as she said so. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm just really tired."

"They're measuring her pulse," Sasuke told me. "They'll know if something happens."

I nodded once, letting my eyes drift back down to Senri, who cuddled himself in my arms in acceptance. With the fingers of my unbroken hand, I touched his chin so feather-lightly. His skin was so soft, and he was so fragile under my tender touch.

"Sakura and I had been talking about it for a while now," Sasuke said, and both Naruto and I gave him our full attention, or at least tried; it proved very, very difficult to keep our eyes off of the gift of life. "We want you two to be Senri's godparents."

I blinked, stunned at the offer, but my mouth moved before my mind could wrap itself around the concept that he was proposing.

"I would be honored," my lips blurted out against my will, not that I would have come to a different decision had I had given myself time to think about it. By my agreeing to this, I would receive custody of this child, if something terrible and untimely happened to his parents. While I would never want anything like that to happen, I was going to give Senri a place to come to.

I knew what it was like, firsthand. I was left alone and without a guardian. When my parents were killed, sure, I was almost eighteen, however there was no way that I would have been able to survive, had it not been for Tenten. I mean, they shut of my electric, and I was practically out of food. If my parents would have given me someone else to rely on, I would have never had to worry about whether or not I was going to eat or not. Of course, my aunt and uncle were my godparents, and mine were Neji's. Unfortunately, they both left us, and we had each other. We are family.

"I'll do it, too," Naruto said, and moved out of the way so Sasuke could come and retrieve his infant son. Even gentler than when he had put Senri in my arms, Sasuke placed tender hands under his son's body, holding him in exactly the right places, and lifted him out of my grasp. It was almost sad to see him go, but I knew that I would be seeing him again very soon.

"Thanks, guys. You two have no idea how much you've done for our family." Sasuke almost fell to his knees and grovel at our feet. "When we told you what was happening, you dropped everything. I wouldn't have expected that from Kiba or Ino, so that's why I didn't tell them. When I had time to think about it, I felt that the two of you would be the most supportive, and I could never thank you enough."

"We're friends," I told him, and Naruto re-laced his fingers with mine, holding my hand so tightly, yet so tenderly. "That's what friends do."

"Still," he gazed down at his beautiful son, "I could never even begin to thank you enough."

"That's okay. You can always pay us back in food," Naruto chuckled, and Sasuke returned a grin.

"I'll keep that in mind." He lightly bounced Senri as he started whining a bit, trying to keep the baby happy. "Can you send in my parents?" he asked, and I nodded at him as Naruto and I turned to leave the room, being as quiet as possible so we didn't wake Senri or Sakura.

We retraced our steps back down the hallway in each other's hands, much calmer than we had been when we were going the opposing way. Everything was okay now; Senri and Sakura were alive, and Sasuke didn't have to cope with any loss. This made me so happy, and I moved closer to Naruto, shining a beam up at him. The length of the hall didn't seem as long, now that we were not suffering and in distress, and we made it back into the lobby, where the four families stood up quickly at the sound of us coming near.

They could tell by the relaxed countenances on our faces that everything was okay, and there was an overly large sigh of relief from every mouth that awaited our response. I gave the people that were gathered in the waiting room a comforting smile.

"Mikuto, Fugaku," I called out Sasuke's parents, as he had requested of me. They came forward, leaving Itachi behind. Their hands were locked together as they had been praying for the safety of the baby. "Sasuke told me to send you two in."

Fugaku nodded in understanding, and he and his wife started down the hallway without another word. My eyes flickered to Misaki and Aoi, who were still trembling as they feared for their daughter's life.

"She's okay," I told them, giving them a sort of hope that they definitely needed. Both of their faces relaxed tenfold, and their muscles quit quivering. The tension had definitely taken a toll on their physical bodies and their psychological minds. I could tell. I then turned my attention to Neji and Tenten, who had returned to their seats, definitely much calmer now that they knew that everything was okay. "Naruto and I are going to head home."

"Oh," Neji said. "We were going to go out for dinner. Aren't you two going?"

"No, I'm not that hungry right now." I turned my attention to Naruto. "What about you?" His eyes flickered to the ceiling as he thought about the question, tapping into the thoughts of his stomach. His mouth stretched to the left as he debated how hungry he was feeling.

"Nah, I think I'm good for now."

"Okay," Neji said, standing back up with Tenten, Minato, and Kushina. "Well the four of us are still going to go out. We're starving."

"Okay, we'll see you back at the house," I said to them and began walking off with Naruto when Itachi called out to us.

"I can give you two a ride," he offered. "I drove myself here, so it's not like my parents would be left without a ride." I nodded once, squeezing Naruto's hand to let him know that it was okay; I loved him and there was no way that I was going to abandon him for Itachi, or for any other man, for that matter. Naruto and I started walking down the hall, leading to the main lobby of the hospital. Itachi quickly caught up to us, tugging his keys out of his pants' pocket.

Once we entered Tenten's apartment, I flicked on the light and glanced around the room, seeing everything with brand new eyes. Everything seemed more vibrant, now that I had witnessed the miracle of new life. Senri was safe and in the world, in the protective arms of his parents. Naruto wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed my neck forcefully but tenderly.

"You were so beautiful when you were holding Senri," he murmured in my ear, sending a tickle and a chill down my spine. Without moving a millimeter further away from Naruto's body, I turned myself around and pressed my lips to his in a heated passion. Our tongues danced in one another's mouths, and we took in the beauty of each other. I loved him so much, and I was willing to give anything for him.

I broke our kiss, but I didn't retreat. Instead, oh so softly, I murmured his name. He turned his attention to me by placing his forehead on mine. "I'm ready."

This made him move back a few inches, just enough so that he could look into my eyes and see if I was telling the truth. I was, with all my heart, I knew that I was ready to share the greatest gift that I could with Naruto. I wanted him to take me.

"Hinata...are you sure?" his voice was so low, it was almost a whisper. I allowed my eyelashes to flutter closed and I caressed his lips in mine, silently telling him that I loved him more than anything in the entire world, and that I wanted to embrace in the most intimate way possible. I wanted him. I didn't want to share this with anybody else. He was precious to me. He was the thing in my life that kept me waking up in the morning, day after day.

"I've never been more sure about anything," I assured him, and he complied. We allowed our lips to embrace once again, and he grabbed the back of my thighs, lifting me up off of the ground. I wasn't afraid of falling; I trusted Naruto. Wrapping my thighs around his waist, I allowed him to carry me across the apartment and to the hallway, where we made our way into my bedroom. I don't know how he did it, but without moving a single hand off of my body, he was able to open my bedroom door and shut it too.

Naruto laid me down on my bed, my back pressing down on the mattress. He moved away from me, reaching backwards to switch the lock on my door, so that we would not be disturbed. Then, I watched, practically drooling, as he slid his jacket off and began unbuttoning his black undershirt. My eyes scanned the contours of his chest as he worked his way down the tedious buttons of the dress shirt.

I glanced at my wristlet, which was laying on top of my small mountain of pillows at my headboard. Reaching over to grab it, I quickly unzipped it and yanked over the square package that had been in there since the beginning of December. Those condoms that had caused me so much stress and heartache were now going to become useful to me; to us.

Naruto placed his knee on the bed and leaned in to catch my lips in a stolen kiss, and I all but melted in his hands. He reached behind me and grasped the zipper at my back - the only thing holding my dress to my body. Gradually, he pinched it in between his fingertips and let it slither down my back, loosening my clothes. As the only thing covering my breasts fell around my hips, I was almost completely exposed to my dear love.

"I love you," I whispered to Naruto, who stroked my bare hips. I wiggled myself out of my dress, allowing it to fall to the floor at our feet. Bravely, I allowed my hands to move to Naruto's pants, unbuttoning them slowly and removing them from his hips. When my arms couldn't reach any further, he finished the job, kicking them from around his ankles. We were exposed to one another, the only thing preventing our being completely naked was our underwear. I had a feeling that they wouldn't last too much longer.

"You're so beautiful," Naruto murmured, his teeth nibbling on my bottom lip as his hand brushed in between my hips, toying with my cotton boyshorts. We laid down together, me on my back, he on his side, and we continued kissing, letting our tongues tango. Naruto's hand peeled back my far-from-sexy lingerie, just in the front, and his fingers glided down my skin, exploring every part of me. I drew in a breath as this new sensation filled my body, and the air caught in my lungs. Naruto's fingers were a little cold as he began touching me intimately, but not moving to anything too hastily. Rather, he allowed himself to explore every curve of my body, and observing my reactions to everything.

Using both of my hands - cast and all - I pulled Naruto down on top of me, feeling myself becoming more and more aroused with each touch and every kiss. His body, too, was reacting the the sensual atmosphere, and ended up jabbing me in the thigh. I didn't care; we were both new at this, and to be honest, the only thing I cared about was sharing this gift with him.

I began sliding Naruto's boxers down away from his hips, exposing his full and hardened member. At the same time, he slipped his hand out of my undergarment and locked his thumbs at the top, pushing them down to my thighs. When they reached my knees, I kicked them off, not caring where they went.

Naruto and I moved to our knees on the surface of the mattress, repositioning ourselves to fit the length of the bed. He layed me down gently, letting my head float atop of my pillows. With a single hand, he caressed one of my breasts, stroking it gently, but keeping clear of their centers. Never once, though, did his lips ever leave mine. My room began to grow steamy as our breathing became heavier, as our kisses and bodies grew more intense.

Sensations flowed through my body like a river, which grew so much more excited with every moment that passed. Naruto's fingertips flowed from my chest, down the center of my abdomen, and moved back down south. He touched me like nobody had ever done before, moving his finger inside of my body. I almost felt the need to squirm, because it felt completely unnatural to me. Just as quickly as his fingers had penetrated me, they exited, leaving me hanging.

Instead, he reached over me to the nightstand, where the lonely condom sat in the darkness. I didn't watch what he did with it, because I trusted him. Instead, I continued to focus on these feelings that were foreign to me. My eyes examined his beautiful body as he moved onto his knees, hovering over me protectively.

"Are you ready?" he asked me, not wanting to do anything if I found myself not ready to proceed in these amorous activities.

I took in a deep breath. "Yes." I nodded, and allowed my arms to fall to the sheets. Naruto repositioned himself, putting his entire body between my legs. I didn't keep my eyes on him, because I didn't want to put too much pressure on him. Instead, my eyes closed, and I let my tactile sense take over. I felt him grasp both of my thighs and press them upwards towards my chest. Then, there was a sharp pain that caused me to suck in a deep breath. Oh, it hurt so badly, and I bit my lip so tightly, but I wanted this to happen, so I didn't demand his waylaid.

Naruto moved his lips to my mouth, drawing a kiss out of me as he interlaced his fingers with mine. All too quickly, it started, and it made my head spin. This was actually happening...we were having sex.

So many emotions that I never knew existed began flooding my body, becoming more intense with every second. Our bodies moved together in such a harmonious synchronization, it was as if we were meant to be together like this. Thrust after thrust, kiss after kiss, moan after sweet moan, Naruto and I held tight to one another. The pain was still there, and the unusual feeling of him filling me was definitely present, but I figured that both of those things would go away over time.

In complete honesty, there is nobody else on this planet that I would rather have shared my first time with, and I hoped that I would never experience this bittersweet bliss with anybody else.

Naruto was so gentle, treating my whole body as if it were something that could break easily, as if I would shatter in the palm of his hand.

I let out a cry that had been building up in the pit of my stomach, and my breathing after that was completely staggered. I felt as though I couldn't seem to catch my breath. However, stopping in the heat of this passion wasn't an option. A melodious moan escaped Naruto's throat, and his eyes squeezed shut. My thighs clenched his body so tightly, I didn't know how he was still able to move his hips.

I wasn't sure how long we went on gasping for air together before he finally allowed himself to finish. To be honest, I was a little disappointed that I didn't experience any of the earth-shattering orgasms that Sakura always talked about. However, both of us were doing this for the very first time, and all of our wants definitely wouldn't be fulfilled on the very first try. Despite that, though, it was perfect. Naruto and me; we were perfect. He couldn't have made me any more happier. We were just going to have to practice more.

Right after Naruto fell to my side, choking for air, we snuggled under my comforter and we embraced one another so tightly. The love that shrouded us in this dark room was suffocating, but I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Only in each other's arms, did we allow ourselves to drift into the peace of unconsciousness. I was content. All of the tension in my body had been released, and I slept soundly in the arms of my lover.

The night didn't seem to last very long, however by the time I drifted back up through the stages of sleep, I felt rested. More than rested, actually. I felt as though I could tip a bulldozer or something. The pain in between my legs and the chafing from the friction were a downside, but other than that, I felt great. I was on top of the world, so long as Naruto was by my side.

The light poured in through the solitary window in my room, shining down on our faces. I didn't want to get up and embrace the day. Naruto and I had to go down to the high school to pick up our diplomas, since we abandoned our graduation ceremony for the birth of Senri Uchiha. We would probably end up going out shopping and try to find little baby clothes that he could wear.

Naruto's arms contracted around my body and he breathed me in, sighing deeply in satisfaction. My fingertips brushed along the top of his arm, and my touched caused the hairs that peppered his flesh to stand up straight.

"Hinata?" he murmured my name, and I closed my eyes, allowing the sound of his voice to circle my brain and serenade it, giving me the full feeling of ecstasy. He was quiet for a moment, which concerned me. I twisted my body around to look him in the eye. He watched me with a tender gaze, and I wondered what it was that was the matter. I entwined my fingers through his gingerly and brought the back of his hand to my lips.

His skin was so soft against mine, and I couldn't stop myself from kissing up the length of his arm, smooching his deltoid, and then his neck. Before I could abduct a kiss from his lips, I halted, gazing into his ocean eyes as he opened his mouth to complete his thought.

"Marry me."

_~Backcourt Lover: La Fine~_

_A note from the author: Thank you all so much for making Backcourt Lover something amazing! To be completely honest, when I initially began writing, I didn't think much was going to come out of it (which is why the first chapter is so short!). But when I woke up the next morning and saw that I had received one hundred views while I slept, I began to think that maybe this could be a really cool thing. In all honesty, I received so many comments whenever I placed Sakura in the hospital with complications with Senri. People said that they didn't see that coming...well neither did I! When I was writing that chapter, I didn't know that it was going to be Sasuke who was waiting for Hinata on the sofa. I actually thought that it was going to be Sakura, herself. But, my fingers and my heart have minds of their own, and so this happened. I was crying along with you, especially when Hinata was thinking through things in the car (after punching Kiba in the face). It was hard. And the story with Hanabi, I didn't know what happened to her until I began writing Hinata's recollection._

_Anyways, thank you all so much for reading, and I hope that any future readers will become addicted, like I have. Please feel free to read and respond, or even send me a private message._

_For the readers who enjoy my style of writing, I am currently beginning a NejiTen fanfiction story called "I Will Never Forget." I mapped out the general idea of the story last night, and I think it may be pretty epic!_

_IT IS OFFICIAL: Backcourt Lover's sequel has been released! Appropriately titled "Encore Lover," the story takes place seven years after the end of its predecessor. Gomene, but I had to give my computer back to the school, and so I haven't been able to write as often as I like. Please bear with me, though! _

_Thank you so much for reading!_

_~voodooprincess1331_


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